Treinta
by whywolfcity
Summary: In which Roronoa Zoro and Nico Robin put up with each other in a steady routine of cheesy moments, pointless fights and everything in between. 30 oneshots about ZoRobin, rated for language and mature situations.
1. beginning

**Disclaimer: One Piece is the property of Eiichiro Oda. Author's notes are at the bottom.**

* * *

Roronoa Zoro was convinced that the woman out in the garden was a murderess, or something equally dangerous.

If she wasn't a murderess, then she was at least a stalker. She had been out in the garden of Zoro's dojo for half an hour now, walking around and, weirdest of all, she was just _touching_ things. It was this that made Zoro wonder if she was a schizophrenic that escaped from the nearby mental hospital, but he abandoned the thought upon closer inspection of her. She was too well put together to fit the crazy person bill. Her long, black hair fell neatly down to her narrow waist; she was pale and curvy, and her tight leather vest and long wraparound skirt showed it; she wore red-lensed sunglasses and carried a notebook with her. Zoro had to admit that she was beautiful, but, he couldn't trust a trespasser.

Therefore, when Zoro slipped the last of his three swords into the green haramaki around his waist, he kept his eyes - well, eye, as his left one was sealed shut - on the woman for as long as he could before leaving the room and stalking out into the courtyard. Johnny and Yosaku sat there with a bottle of sake, not paying any mind to the group of children whacking each other with and fighting over about six bokken. Zoro groaned, annoyed at the fact that he'd entrusted the children's safety to the two oafs.

While peeling one child off the other, Zoro glared at Johnny and Yosaku. "You idiots, someone could've gotten an eye poked out!"

"Why? Would that make you feel more at home?" Yosaku covered his left eye and nudged Johnny, both of them cackling.

Zoro groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just watch the damn kids!"

Both of the other men mimicked Zoro's voice, making it deeper and albeit more annoying than it actually was, and the kids joined in. Rather than threatening to slash his "friends" in half and ordering the children to do suicides for every crack in the stone floor, Zoro resumed his spying on the strange woman and began to approach her.

"Oi, woman," Zoro boomed as soon as he was within earshot of her. She looked up and he folded his muscular, tan arms across his chest, scowling. "Trespassing is a crime."

Curiously, slowly, the woman pushed her sunglasses up onto her forehead. She began to walk towards him, her pink high heels clacking against the stone path. Zoro dropped his right hand over the hilts of his swords, hoping to stop her in her tracks. Instead, the woman kept walking until she was an arm's length away from Zoro. She replied, "The gate was wide open."

"Ne, woman, that doesn't matter," Zoro spat, though he mentally kicked himself for napping instead of double-checking to see if Johnny locked the entry gate. "What the hell are you doing here?"

The woman blinked - and, damn, were her eyes ever blue - and then smiled. She extended her right hand out to Zoro. "My name is Nico Robin. I write for the Ohara Times. I'm not sure of whether or not you've heard of it, but I'm here on something like a business trip. I wanted to see about your dojo."

Zoro narrowed his eye as he shook the woman's beautifully soft hand. Still, he couldn't help but give into the smirk that twitched at his lips. There were people from other countries who knew about him, and that pleased him greatly. Plus, it didn't hurt that there was a very visually appealing woman wanting to know more about him. "Really, now?"

"Yes, sir. I heard about the championships and I felt compelled to interview you on your motive and your methods." Robin explained. "You obviously must be doing something right if your... students, so to speak, do so well at competitions."

Zoro pursed his lips when he realized that she was looking past him at the plethora of kids acting up and hitting each other. "They're not always like that. Just gotta... get their butts in gear sometimes."

The woman gave a polite laugh and Zoro was bordering on infatuated when he heard such a beautiful noise. Not only was her smile one of the most beautiful things he had ever witnessed since, say, the pure white hilt of Wado Ichimonji, but her laugh was musical. Almost angelic, like the aforementioned sword's movements...

And then he caught himself. He compared a woman that he just met to a sword to which he dedicated his whole life. Was she really that captivating that she was in the same caliber as Wado Ichimonji in terms of beauty and grace?

Zoro's face turned sour. "Anyway, what do you want again? I'm busy."

Robin cocked an eyebrow, lowering her shades over her eyes. "Well, then. I can see that I'm taking up your time. I'll be going now... and I strongly advise you to close and lock your gates. I almost had my bag stolen three times on the way here. There were never this many thieves in Ohara, that is for goddamn certain."

Zoro gave an awkward chuckle, looking back at Johnny and Yosaku. They had moved into plain sight, making vulgar hand gestures and chuckling like the oafs Zoro saw them as. He rolled his eye and turned back, only to see the woman walking away. "W-Wait!"

Robin turned as Zoro staggered up to her. "Oh? I see you've decided to fit some time in your busy schedule for me."

"I thought that, maybe, we could meet up later. If you're still interested in that interview." Zoro offered. "And... maybe we could get to know each other?"

Her smile was sly, yet, warm. Zoro sputtered, "I-I'm free this evening, if you want to come over."

The female nodded slowly. She bit her bottom lip. "I'll come by around eight, then."

Zoro allowed her to walk away this time. He sighed quietly. She may have been a schizophrenic murderess, but, now, she was a schizophrenic murderess with which he technically had a date.

* * *

**Hi there, dear reader, and thank you for choosing to read this story. Essentially, this is a drabble collection based on a list of thirty words I found on Tumblr. The words will be listed throughout as the chapter titles, as you can see above. They won't necessarily be in chronological order, but they'll all revolve around this first oneshot. I hope you all enjoy it, because I'm very proud of the ones I've written so far. See you next chapter!**

**- Angela**


	2. equivocal

**Disclaimer: One Piece is the property of Eiichiro Oda. Author's notes are at the bottom.**

* * *

Oftentimes, Zoro found himself wishing that Robin had never come to the dojo to begin with.

Their kind of relationship wasn't what he signed up for at all. It wasn't anything common, like constant arguments or infidelity. Sure, they fought, but it was either over something trivial like whose turn it was to do dishes, or it could be fixed with sex. Rather, the confusion and doubt was one-sided.

Zoro felt invisible to her, sometimes. Not only was she incredibly difficult to read, but she could be so detached and she would distance herself from him so often that he felt as if she hated him. And it just wasn't fair; he loved her and he loved being around her, but no one could force her to do anything, and he never tried. Zoro wanted to let her be, let her sit under the covers alone with a cup of coffee and one of her dozens of books, let her fall asleep without a kiss goodnight, but it fucking hurt. It hurt, and he wanted no more of it.

Besides that, he wanted to know just what the hell was in those books that made her that way. With that, Zoro decided to sneak in on one of her reading sessions. It was the afternoon, and he decided on this when Robin decided on bringing her current favourite book - a black hardcover one with silver writing on the spine - to the table to read as opposed to conversing with Zoro over lunch at a nearby café. She didn't notice how he was scowling at her the whole time, and it wasn't fair; he wanted her to feel bad for ignoring him like this, but she didn't even realize it.

And when they were driving home and he leaned over to see the page, she snapped the book shut with her thumb between the two pages she left off on and chided, "You're going to get us killed. Eye on the road."

So, that evening, Zoro trudged into their bedroom and stood beside the bed with a frown and folded arms. Robin was lying down with stomach pressed against the mattress, the book propped up against the pillow. Instead of coffee, today, she had a large bottle of water and a plate of blueberry cookies. He boomed, "Oi, woman."

Robin looked up at Zoro and smiled. "Kenshi-san."

"Make room." He ordered. Robin shrugged and shifted over, allowing Zoro to settle on the mattress as well. Even then, Zoro lay on his stomach beside her, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder blade. "What the fuck are you reading, anyway?"

Robin pursed her lips. "It takes place in the desert, in a city overcome by drought. It centers around the vice president of a criminal organization designed to take over the kingdom. The vice president is on the run from the World Government and the president is affiliated with the World Government itself. You could say she's leading a double life. Right now, she's snuck onto a pirate ship."

Zoro grunted in reply. "Doesn't sound that interesting. Certainly not interesting enough to steal you from me."

Humming in thought, the female asked, "Did you think I was ignoring you, Zoro?"

"Well... yeah," Zoro mumbled. "I mean, I just kinda feel like you don't notice me anymore. Ugh, I sound like a child."

Robin frowned, turning her head and reaching back slightly to run her fingers through the mess of short green hair at her shoulder. "Why couldn't you just tell me?"

"Because it was stupid. It sounded stupid just now." The swordsman answered. He pushed his head up against Robin's palm, nearly purring at the contact. "I guess I was just confused about what was going on with us."

Robin smiled and planted a kiss on Zoro's forehead, staring down at him. "No book will ever come close to being as interesting as you are, Zoro."

The male grinned and kissed Robin. He then peered at the open page and asked, "Anything exciting happen?"

Turning her attention back to the novel, Robin grinned. "She falls in love with the swordsman."

* * *

**In case you haven't noticed, she's reading a modified version of her canon life story. Yohohoho~ how delightful! This was actually supposed to be the fifth drabble, but I was just so proud of it that I bumped it up to the second. I hope you liked it. :')**

**Also, thank you all so, so much for the wonderful response. It means a lot, and I love you all.**

**- Angela**

**P.S. Did anyone catch the reference to my other ZoRobin story? The schizophrenic murderess? *wink wink, nudge nudge***


	3. snowflake

**Disclaimer: One Piece is the property of Eiichiro Oda. Author's notes are at the bottom.**

* * *

Robin had only brought one suitcase with her to East Blue, and, after seeing her stuff a month's worth of new clothes into said suitcase, Zoro was officially convinced that she had some sort of witchcraft on her side, not counting the Devil Fruit arms that helped her close the suitcase.

Wiping her hands off on her pants, Robin declared, "That's the last of it."

"Good. Now..." Zoro rounded the bed and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Let's have a little last minute fun. Warm ourselves up before our journey."

"Stop that." Robin turned her head as Zoro leaned in to kiss her. "I've already stayed a lot longer than I intended. The employees know me by _name_. Plus, I have to check out in half an hour."

"There's a lot we can do in half an hour... _baby-chan_." Zoro purred. His hands lingered down to Robin's behind and he successfully planted a kiss on her lips. He repeatedly kissed her lips, jaw and neck, murmuring, "You smell _so _good..."

"Oh, leave me alone." Robin pushed Zoro away. She smiled sympathetically upon seeing the wounded puppy-like expression that her boyfriend now wore. She stroked his cheek with her right hand. "How about this? When you visit me, the moment I see your face, I'll jump you. Okay?"

"I guess." Zoro shrugged. Knowing her, she was probably lying just to make him feel better for the time being, but was a compromise he was willing to make.

Robin kissed him on the nose and stooped to pick up her suitcase. "Ready?"

Zoro only grunted in reply, opening the door and following Robin out into the hallway. On their journey to the elevator and even past that, multiple employees waved and said, "Bye, Robin" or "See you later, Robin!"

Robin grinned at Zoro over her shoulder after checking out of the hotel and said, "They'll miss me."

"Yeah, yeah." The swordsman groaned. "I'll miss you, too, you know."

"Zoro..." Robin said softly, joining her hands behind Zoro's neck. His hands rested on her hips and he pressed his forehead to hers. She continued, "Zoro, honey, I know you're upset, but I have to go back. I'm already on the verge of losing the column because I've asked for so much time away. If it wasn't for that, I would stay with you for as long as you'd have me."

Zoro shrugged. "I get it. I just... I'll miss you so much."

"And I, you, Zoro."

* * *

It was snowier in Ohara than it was back in East Blue, and Zoro hated it.

The swordsman always hated winter. The bitter cold, the harsh wind, the constantly accumulating snow - all of it. It was enough at home, but Ohara was just too much to handle. It was especially strange because, in this town, people actually _enjoyed_winter. The town's inhabitants crossed the streets over to each other's houses, and some people even conversed outside in front of stores and their houses. To top it all off, they weren't nearly as bundled up as Zoro was. Anyway, Zoro couldn't concern himself with the others; he was making a beeline for the townhouse which bore the address on the piece of paper in Zoro's hand. Granted, he had to ask around - Ohara was built like a fucking labyrinth - and his cheeks and nose were numb and frigid, but it was worth it to get to see Robin again.

Two hours later, Zoro was standing on the snowy doorstep, his heart pounding as he bounced on the spot after ringing the doorbell. He'd been waiting three months for this moment. Even then, when the door was opened and he spotted her hunched over a book at a circular table, he wasn't surprised to see that she didn't even look up.

"Robin." Zoro smiled.

The woman frowned slightly at the fact that she'd been interrupted, and then took off her glasses and looked up at the doorway. Her eyes focused on Zoro and a smile stretched across her face. She stood and, before Zoro could meet her in the middle of the room, Robin ran up to him and jumped, wrapping her legs around Zoro's waist. She was kissing him repeatedly and fervently and he quickly held onto her, shocked. "Robin-"

"Ugh, I missed you," Robin mumbled between kisses. "Let's go upstairs."

Zoro's eye widened. "What's gotten into you?"

"The shower," she said quickly with a manic grin. "Let's do it in the shower."

Truthfully, Zoro had never seen Robin like this, though, he wasn't complaining. She _did_ promise to jump him, anyway.

* * *

**Because Robin is allowed to have sexual urges, too.**

**Also, kind readers, an announcement: I'll be travelling until Monday, and I start school on Tuesday, so the updates are gonna slow down a bit. I love you guys to bits. :')**

**- Angela**


	4. fear

**Disclaimer: One Piece is the property of Eiichiro Oda. Author's notes are at the bottom.**

* * *

"Oh, my God. Oh, my G—_Zoro, stop!_"

"Robin, calm down. I haven't even done anything."

"This is so stupid. This is—_Zoro!_"

"Stop shouting! You look like a maniac!"

"Oh, so you're more concerned about how I look rather than the fact that _I am going to drown_? Nice. That's really sweet of you."

"Robin, you're six-two! You can stand here! You're just being an idiot!"

"Excuse me?"

Zoro rolled his eye. He wondered why Robin was so well-liked amongst Zoro's group of friends. Sure, he was glad that they liked her, but he found it strange that they liked her for being mellow and calm. When it came to her doing some sort of swimming, it was the total opposite: she had her arms and legs, including several Devil Fruit limbs, wrapped securely around Zoro, her body pressed tightly against his back as he carried her into the lake. She was positively shrieking and, if any part of her body should touch the water, she'd claw at Zoro's hair, face and torso in alarm, and the swordsman had had enough of it.

"Holy fuck, you're so embarrassing..." Zoro groaned. After prying one of Robin's hands away from his eye, he looked back to see the whole gang - Luffy, Usopp, Nami, Vivi, Franky, Brook and Chopper - snickering at them. Zoro stuck his tongue out at them, then said, "Robin, let go."

"Are you insane?!" The woman hissed.

"Robin, the _bathtub_ is deeper than this. Trust me."

With great hesitation, nodded and unlatched herself from Zoro. She planted her feet on the sand and pebbles below to find that the water stopped just under her knees. Zoro skipped the "I told you so" and instead lay on his back, floating. He instructed, "Straddle me."

Robin folded her arms. "In public?"

"Not that kind of straddling, you idiot woman," Zoro stared up at the sky and frowned. "Look, fine, I'll flip over."

Once Zoro turned onto his stomach, Robin wrung her hands in thought. "You won't toss me in, will you?"

"Wouldn't dream of it, babe." Zoro smirked. Upon further reflection, Zoro realized that it would have been a humorous little prank if Robin could actually float as opposed to sinking like a hammer.

Robin whispered an "okay" and proceeded to straddle Zoro's lower back, pressing her hands into his back cautiously. "Now what, kenshi-san?"

Silently relishing the feeling of Robin, feather-light, straddling him, Zoro answered, "You'll see."

With that, the swordsman propelled himself forward through the soft waves. Robin's nails dug into his back - though it wasn't something he wasn't used to - but slowly eased themselves as he swam with a gentle pace. Strands of long, black hair flew back and out of Robin's face with the breeze and Zoro's movement, exhilarating her so much that she giggled. "This is fun."

Zoro was tempted to reply with some snide remark, but upon hearing her light and bubbly laugh, he decided to forgo on talking back. Imagining her brilliant smile and her sparkling blue eyes melted his heart, frankly, and he liked to see her happy. He called out, "Are they still laughing at you, baby-chan?"

Robin glanced back at the group on the shore, who now smiled at her, along with Nami and Vivi holding their hands together and cooing about how adorable the whole thing was. She leaned down so that her lips were close to Zoro's right ear. "Thank you, Zoro."

* * *

Zoro wrapped an arm around Robin's shoulders, allowing her to curl up closer to him. The two were under a fuzzy, forest green blanket on the couch, watching a science fiction movie about people with supernatural powers.

"Because they make me feel normal," Robin reasoned when she selected the DVD from the rental store.

Robin looked up at Zoro. "The beach was fun today. Especially the swimming portion."

"And just who was swimming, exactly?" Zoro grinned.

As the swordsman kissed her forehead, Robin mused, "Not a lot of things scare me, you know. Drowning, though, terrifies me."

"I can understand that; it's slow and painful." Zoro shrugged.

"What about you, kenshi-san?"

"What _about_ me?"

"Are you afraid of anything?"

Zoro pressed his lips into a tight line, frowned, and then scowled. Something had come to mind, yes, but he avoided her eyes and scoffed. "No."

Robin arched an eyebrow. "Stop that."

"What? You think I'm lying?" Zoro scoffed again. Robin stared at him and he pouted. "Idiot."

"How about this: if I guess it, will you tell me if I'm right or wrong?" Robin offered. "The dark."

"What do I look like, some pussy five-year-old?"

"Spiders."

"No."

"Murderers!"

"Robin!"

Robin rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the movie. "You're so stubborn."

Zoro nuzzled up to the girl timidly like a cat looking for attention and sighed. "I'm... i-it's stupid. It's just stupid."

"Hey," the female said softly, touching the tips of her fingers to the swordsman's tanned cheek. "When have I ever judged you?"

Zoro shrugged again and dropped his arms to snake them around Robin's waist. He pressed his cheek to the side of her head. "I guess I'm scared of losing you."

"You won't ever have to worry about that. I promise." Robin assured with a smile. "As long as you take me to the beach again."

Zoro smiled. "Shut up, woman. I'm trying to watch a movie."

* * *

**I'll admit to having Robin be a little out of character, here, but it just wouldn't be as fun if she was as level-headed as she usually is. You understand, right?**

**See you next chapter. :')**


	5. restless

**Disclaimer: One Piece is the property of Eiichiro Oda. Author's notes are at the bottom.**

* * *

_Merciless flames lick at blades of dry, dead grass. Flawless skin, the skin of her people, becomes marred with cuts that ooze deep red blood. The majestic tree, the tree they all love, is reduced to ashes and splintered twigs. And she watches, stoic, as someone screams to her, "Live, Robin!"_

Grabbing at the sheets in alarm, Robin shot up out of bed. It was as if an iron hand had wrapped itself around her heart and lungs as she breathed harshly and pawed at her chest. Her messy, tangled hair whipped her face as she shook her head rapidly, trying to shake herself into reality. It was of little use, as every blink housed the terrifying scene from the dream - the nightmare, more rather. Despite the fact that she was, in fact, dreaming, she was still scared, and this was proven by her sudden sobbing. She brought her hands up to her face, sobbing loudly - loudly enough to wake Zoro.

"Robin? Baby?" He grumbled, sitting up. It must have been the early morning - around four or five - as the pink and dark blue sky, as well as the rising sun, outside provided sufficient light for Zoro to see Robin's shoulders shaking, along with the rest of her body. He shuffled over beside Robin, laying a hand on her back. "Robin?"

She only shook her head in reply, her breathing ragged and harsh. She ran her fingers through her hair. Zoro wrapped his arms around the shaking female, rocking her back and forth in the gentlest way possible. He kissed her temple and whispered, "It's okay, Robin. It's okay. I'm here."

"Burning," Robin breathed. "Everything was burning."

Confused, Zoro tugged at Robin gently. "Let's go get some coffee downstairs, okay?"

The offer went unanswered. The swordsman was duped, if not completely rattled. Robin was rarely speechless, but she was practically catatonic now. He took it upon himself to take Robin's hand and coax her into a standing position, leading her down to the dojo's kitchen. She seated herself at the kitchen island while Zoro proceeded to boil some water.

"I keep having this nightmare..." Robin muttered.

Turning his attention from the coffee to his girlfriend, Zoro asked, "S'that what woke you up, babe?"

She nodded slowly, sighing. "I keep dreaming that Ohara's being destroyed. Burned to ashes. Then someone tells me to live... my mother, I think."

Zoro promptly flocked to Robin's side upon seeing her tremble slightly. He took one of her hands, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb. "Any reason why?"

Robin looked at Zoro and replied, "My mother left Ohara when I was very young. She was really big on activism and charity and all that, so she was travelling. Granted, since I was small and impressionable, I guess I interpreted her explanation as her wanting to go and save the world. When I asked if I could come with her, she said that she wanted me to live without having to follow someone else's dream."

Intrigued, Zoro whispered, "And then what happened?"

"My mom was friends with this team of archaeologists, so she asked them to help raise me until I was sixteen," Robin answered. "At the time, they were researching the Void Century. That didn't sit well with the government, so the team is in hiding. I ran away."

"Doesn't explain the fire, though." Zoro mused.

Robin sighed. "I've always just been thinking about how far the government would go..."

Zoro twisted his lips in thought and squeezed Robin's hand. He sighed. "Maybe you should go back. To Ohara, for good. You're obviously worried about the state of things, and people in hiding can't usually send letters, so..."

"Zoro?" Robin asked softly.

He met her curious gaze and rubbed his forehead. "I... I was just thinkin' about asking you to move in with me. But it was a dumb idea, obviously."

The female squeezed Zoro's hand this time as he made to leave, coaxing him into sitting back down. She slid as close to him as she could while staying on the stool, stroking his cheek. "Listen, Zoro. Part of me - a really, _really_ big part of me - wants to go back. I'm here with you because you make me feel safe. You help me realize that it just might be time to leave Ohara for good."

Zoro shifted. "Really?"

"Really," Robin smiled. "Where else can I find someone who'll offer to cut my enemies in half?"

"Damn straight, woman," Zoro yawned. "I'll slice the whole fuckin' government if that makes you happy."

As unrealistic as it was, Robin giggled in reply and kissed the swordsman's forehead. "And I would do the same for you."

"You don't know how to use swords, you idiot woman." Zoro rested his head on the table and closed his eye. "You could probably wield a billion with that weird-ass power of yours, anyway."

"I'll start with one and work my way up, if you'll teach me." Robin said softly. She sat there, raking her fingers through Zoro's hair for what felt like hours until sunrise.

* * *

**Readers, I'm sorry for the wait, as well as this awful vignette. I wanted to get this one out as soon as possible, but, between school, writer's block and the fact that I haven't been allowed on the Internet as of late have prevented me from doing so. Please forgive me!**

**- Angela**


	6. lost

**Disclaimer: One Piece is the property of Eiichiro Oda. Author's notes are at the bottom.**

* * *

As seemingly black-and-white as Robin could be, she let Zoro in on a rather colourful dream of hers: to rent a lavender, glittering convertible and drive until herself and whoever else was with her reached the beach at the end of East Blue. The fantasy got continuously elaborate as she explained further: she would wear her floral sleeveless top with light grey skinny jeans and her white sun hat; at some point she would raise her hands and let the wind whip at her face; and she would gladly hose the dead bugs off the grille of the car when they got back. Zoro proposed that, as August 12th marked their first anniversary, it would be a unique method of celebration.

"We can go to that seafood restaurant with the view," Zoro proposed as he hoisted Robin's pink and white striped beach bag into the trunk of their rented convertible. "Perhaps get a room for the night?"

"If it's lovemaking that you want, we have the backseat," Robin winked at Zoro from the passenger seat. "Do you have the map, Zoro?"

Zoro scowled, interpreting the innocent inquiry as a challenge. "Why do I need a goddamned map, anyway? I'm not an idiot."

Robin raised her hands in defense as Zoro rounded the car. "I have in mind a classic road trip, and that entails a map. If you don't think you need it, don't use it. I _strongly_ recommend-"

"Oi, woman, I hate your preaching. Be quiet." Zoro snarled as he buckled his seat belt.

He put the car in gear as Robin slipped her sunglasses - the ones with the silver frames and pink lenses - over her eyes as she rolled them. "Let's at least stop for gas first, Zoro."

And Zoro agreed on that much.

* * *

Robin clenched and ground her teeth for what was probably the twentieth time that evening and peered at Zoro. The happy swordsman simply tapped his fingers against the steering wheel to the beat of the music and even bobbed his head while he drove along the dirt road, whereas Robin was teetering on the line between livid and devastated. She hoped he would pick up the hint when she presented the map neatly in her lap, but he paid no mind to her. After several attempts at this, Robin turned to Zoro and asked the million dollar question.

"Where are we, Zoro?"

As if she had just asked him if the sky was blue, Zoro furrowed his eyebrows and snickered, "Going to get gas, Robin. I thought you were smart."

Ultimately being pushed over the very edge of despair once her intelligence was questioned by Zoro, of all people, Robin put her head in her hands, gesticulating wildly as she said, "We passed _three gas stations_ on the way here, you bumbling idiot."

"What?!" Zoro hissed. "Why didn't you say anything?!"

Robin didn't hesitate to whip the map into Zoro's chest. "If you had just put your _fucking_ pride aside for two_ fucking _seconds and used the _fucking_ map like I told you to-"

"Sheesh, Robin, why so hostile?"

"Why so- ugh! I can't stand you!" Robin turned away from Zoro, staring out at the nothingness surrounding them. How Zoro managed to exit the city and get _here_, where _here_ was equal to a stretch of unpaved road with little vegetation, she would never know.

Coincidentally enough, she would have the privilege to find out, as the vehicle suddenly came to a grinding, sputtering halt.

"Oh, wonderful." Robin threw her arms up as Zoro frantically searched the car for some sort of solution to their problem. "Another unmitigated disaster at the hands of my idiot boyfriend. I give up."

"I don't need any lip from you right now, Robin," Zoro sighed, attempting to muster a polite tone. "We have bigger problems than the fact that your little fantasy has been ruined."

"I don't know about you, Zoro, but I couldn't care less about that right now. I'm concerned about the fact that you've gotten us stranded on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere-"

"This isn't my fault, woman. If you just told me-"

"I can't believe you're blaming me for this! Your ego gets bruised so easily!"

"You're talking?! It's like you always just _have_ to be right, you goddamn know-it-all!"

"That's because I _am_ right all the time, since you're so stupid!"

"You just think you're so cool, don't you?"

"Ugh. I don't have time for this. I don't have time for your childish games and all this bickering."

Zoro scowled furiously at Robin as she shoved the car door open, his livid expression melting away once he saw Robin start to stomp away down the street. She had the slightest of pouts on her lips and she stopped with a "hmph" of indignation, staring out into the sunset. The swordsman found himself smirking; Robin was fucking adorable when she was mad. He licked his lips, grinned, and called out, "What are you- what are you doing, Robin?"

She huffed and crossed her arms as she usually did when she used her power. Multiple arms piled on top of one another in a fascinating structure that intrigued Zoro deeply enough for him to step out of the car himself to see what her intentions were. He repeated, "Robin, what are you doing?"

"Spelling 'help'." She replied shortly.

Zoro laughed - Robin's brow twitched at the sound - and wrapped his arms around Robin's tiny waist. He kissed her on the cheek. "You're real adorable when you're mad, you know that?"

"Don't touch me." Robin hissed.

He nuzzled her cheek with his own. "I don't wanna fight. C'mon, it's our anniversary."

Though she probably wouldn't admit to it, Robin softened at the sobering thought. She sniffed and heaved, "It is, isn't it?"

Zoro let a genuine smile appear on his lips. "I'm sorry, Robin."

The female gave a hum of acknowledgement and replied, "Me, too. We'll look back on this and laugh, I suppose."

"Maybe." Zoro looked between the blinking hazard lights on the virtually useless car and Robin, whose dismembered arms disappeared in a flurry of petals. "But I'll mostly remember the fact that you finally dropped a few F-bombs. It was kind of hot."

"Keep your pants on, Zoro." Robin yawned. In a moment of thought and spontaneity, Zoro stooped low and coaxed Robin into his arms, carrying her bridal style back to the car.

Once they were situated in the backseat together, snuggling innocently, Robin gasped softly. "I almost forgot!"

"Huh?" Whilst cradling Robin in his arms, Zoro drifted off into a slightly dozy state. He rubbed his eye and watched as Robin produced an awfully chunky contraption from her bag. He arched an eyebrow and asked, "The hell is that?"

"It's a Polaroid camera I got from an antique shop the other day," Robin answered with a fond smile. "I want to remember this. I think I'll caption it with the words... 'Sunset stranded'."

"Fitting." Zoro commented. Robin handed the camera to the Devil Fruit arms embedded in the seat before them, scooting closer to Zoro.

"Three... two... one."

When the machine spit out the photo and the darkness of the square blossomed into a beautiful photo, both of them beamed at the sight of how happily they were depicted. In particular, they grinned at the approaching tow truck in the background.

* * *

**The prompt for this one was originally supposed to be "flame", but, I didn't like that one, so I picked up a book and the first noun I saw was "lost". Then, this oneshot was born. ****I wanted to write one of these in which Robin and Zoro have a legitimate argument, especially because I wanted to exercise my headcanon idea that Robin only curses when she's ****_really _****upset.**

**And, you know, sometimes, I think I should actually draw the Polaroid, but, then I remember something: I suck at drawing. Anyway, thank you guys for being so loyal in terms of reviewing; it means a lot! I'll get to work on writing personal replies soon enough. See you next chapter. :')**

**- Angela**


	7. formal

**Disclaimer: One Piece is the property of Eiichiro Oda. Author's notes are at the bottom.**

* * *

Zoro trusted Robin enough so that she could touch his belongings, just as long as she put them back where they came from. Even with this established trust, he still cringed when he saw her touching his swords or folding his several haramaki. That Sunday morning, when Zoro came back from training, he nearly burst a blood vessel when he saw all of his clothes strewn across the bed and floor of his and Robin's bedroom. His gawk and gaze followed Robin - featuring her Devil Fruit arms - as she flitted across the room, rummaging through drawers and scanning shelves. He sputtered, "R-Robin!"

"Do you _own_ a suit, Zoro? All you have are these sweatpants and those atrocious boots." The woman groaned condescendingly. "You're lucky I even found your tie. You know the nice mint green one with the forest green stripes - it goes very nicely with your hair."

"Woman, what the hell are you doing?!" Zoro cried, gesticulating madly to the mess before them when Robin looked at him curiously.

"The wedding, Zoro! Remember?" She tossed an envelope to him from the dresser. He caught it with ease and opened it cautiously - because paper cuts hurt, even for someone as strong as himself - scanning the fancy, textured invitation quickly.

_You are cordially invited to the wedding of Usopp Matsumura and Nami Ulfsson on Sunday, April Twenty-Second…_

Zoro let out a quiet "oh" of realization, understanding a little more why the room was in such shambles. Without argument, he obeyed Robin's order to hurry up and get in the shower, but he upturned his nose when she said that he "smelled like a wet goat in the middle of August".

The wedding was the center of excitement in their circle of friends. Usopp and Nami had been together for only a year and a half when they decided to tie the knot (frankly, it made Robin wonder why herself and Zoro had been in love for twice that time and they had made absolutely no progress), and it was all they ever talked about. The excitement mostly rubbed off on the girls, who often gathered to discuss shoes and hair and dresses over wine and cheese. The majority of the males of the gang was more focused on the bachelor party and if there would be any hot bridesmaids feeling a little lonely.

"It is my duty as a man to gladly cater to the desires of such graceful doves in need of wind beneath their wings," Sanji soliloquized over dinner one night. "I will ignite the flames of love in their fragile hearts once more!"

Zoro gagged audibly then, earning him a swift kick to the chest from the "slave to love" chef.

Though he never admitted it to anyone, the whole process made Zoro think. Marriage was a big deal, especially to Usopp, who had never really had a serious girlfriend before Nami. Unlike the long-nosed man, Zoro had his fair share of heartache and, though they bickered occasionally, himself and Robin made a good match. They made a great match, even, and that made Zoro picture her in a radiant wedding gown, standing before him and all of their friends as she said, "I do."

Zoro felt like he'd transformed into the idiot chef after he snapped out of said daydreams, and that made him sick.

Soon enough, after much more running around and Robin barking commands at Zoro, the couple was headed for the church. It was a grand one in a slightly rural part of downtown, a basilica, and it was intimidating to Zoro; the place was humongous, and, _boy_, was he a sinner. He avoided the pointed stares of religious beings sculpted into art with a deep scowl. Instead, he kept his gaze on Robin. She was wearing the same strapless, coral dress as all the other bridesmaids, but it just looked so _right_ on her. Zoro loved that Robin had the ability to look beyond beautiful in absolutely anything she wore. Occasionally, she would catch Zoro staring and wink at him, and Zoro's heart would skip a beat - and that hadn't happened for years.

* * *

Franky sobbed quite loudly throughout his entire speech at the wedding reception. Nami also found herself wiping tears away as Usopp kissed her tenderly on the temple, holding her close. Franky's sisters rushed to his aid with a tissue box once he'd finished speaking and Zoro snickered, taking a swig of sake. He glanced over at Robin, who dabbed carefully at Nami's face with a folded facial tissue nearby.

"You're going to ruin your makeup, dear," Robin sighed. "And we can't have that, can we?"

"What would I do without you, Robin?" Nami whimpered.

"Well, for one, you would cry all your mascara onto your dress." Robin joked. She turned to Zoro and asked, "Zoro, would you mind getting me something to drink?"

Zoro gave a grunt of recognition that could be heard over the sappy ballad that was currently playing. Usopp offered to join him on his journey to the table, saying, "All this estrogen is intimidating."

Zoro laughed. "Well, you become immune after a while."

"Hey, now, I'm the married one," Usopp reminded. "I'm supposed to be giving you advice from here on in."

Zoro contemplated this for a moment. Usopp had the tendency to exhibit extreme cowardice sometimes, but he _had_ been brave enough to ask for Nami's hand in marriage, and that was an admirable feat. Zoro twisted his lips in thought and swished his beverage around inside its container. "Oi, longnose. I got... I got a question."

"I'll try my best to answer it."

"How did you know? That Nami was... the one?" Zoro cringed at his cliché choice of words, but Usopp nodded as if to digest the question.

"You thinking of asking Robin?" Usopp smiled and cooed. "How adorable!"

"Oi, longnose! I don't need your goddamn-" Zoro quieted upon seeing a few people turn at his barking. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yeah. Yeah, I am."

Usopp shrugged. "I guess you just kinda _know_."

Zoro pursed his lips. "Somehow, I don't think that's very good advice."

"Hey, you don't have to take my word for it," Usopp held his hands up in defense as he spoke. "Don't be a dick."

Zoro rolled his eye and plucked a glass of sparkling water off the nearby table, sights set on Robin, who was still fussing over Nami. He rolled his shoulders back a couple of timed and cracked his neck as he sauntered over to her, wrapping an arm around her waist and presenting her with the drink. "For you."

"Such a presentation." Robin giggled. "How sweet of you!"

Nami arched an eyebrow and cleared her throat, smirking at Robin. "I think that's my cue to leave."

"Yes, witch, get out of here." Zoro dismissed. Nami presented a middle finger to him before disappearing into the crowd.

Robin sighed. "Even on her wedding day, you just have to be so awful to Nami."

"She started it." Zoro defended.

"It's official, then; I'm dating a twelve-year-old." Robin joked. "Dance with me."

Zoro, though he recognized the fact that dancing was most certainly not his forte, complied. She had an arm wrapped around him and laid her head on his shoulder. His hands rested on her waist and he occasionally reached up to stroke her hair.

Zoro swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. "Robin."

"Zoro," she replied, looking back at him. She smiled. "Aren't weddings lovely?"

"They're alright, I guess." Zoro shrugged.

Robin pursed her lips and mused, "My wedding will definitely be better. If I have one, that is."

Now, Zoro knew how to spot an opening when it was present. It was because of this that he asked, "You see us getting married someday, then?"

"I said 'if', Zoro." Robin said quietly, avoiding his gaze by placing her head back down on his shoulder.

Though this emphasis disheartened the swordsman, he refused to falter. "Well, I think we should. Get married. Someday. Because you piss me off."

Robin pulled back and narrowed her eyes in confusion. "What the hell?"

"I mean... I mean that you piss me off in a good way." Zoro blushed and scowled. "I'm not a romantic person, alright?!"

"So, don't be romantic." Robin proposed simply.

Zoro sighed softly. "I love you, Robin. I love you because, when we argue, you know how to shut me up. You don't take crap from anybody, much less me. You aren't clingy or mushy or whatever. You're creepy and morbid and weird, and I love that about you. We're a lot alike. And I wouldn't mind living with that for the rest of my life, because I'm used to it. And I like it. So, there."

Robin smiled at Zoro and looked up in thought. "Roronoa Robin. Huh. Sounds nice."

"Sounds great."

Zoro leaned forward to kiss Robin, but she pulled back and said, "I want a blue diamond on my engagement ring, Zoro."

"Are you willing to accept a candy ring?" Zoro snickered at the exasperated look on Robin's face, successfully kissing her frown away.

* * *

**So, dear reader…**

**You were expecting Usopp and Kaya, weren't you?**

**PLOT TWIST.**

**To be honest, I ship Usopp and Nami more than I will ever ship Usopp and Kaya. They're just so similar, plus, I love the tasty four-inch height difference, too. I got their last names from a multi-chapter UsoNa story that I was writing here, and that I deleted for some tweaking. You'll see that pairing pop up from time to time within the drabbles, yoi.**

**See you next chapter!**


	8. knowledge

**Disclaimer: One Piece is the property of Eiichiro Oda. Author's notes are at the bottom.**

* * *

In her sudden decision to rule with an authoritative hand, as her stubborn mule of a boyfriend wouldn't do anything unless she nagged him to do so, Robin set her plastic container of lasagna down on the table before her and stood. "Zoro?!"

Robin racked her brain momentarily and figured that Zoro would be in the basement training. Everyone knew that interrupting Zoro's training was totally unheard of, but that wasn't usually Robin's problem. Her problem, frankly, was the way Zoro swung a gigantic rod with massive weights around; she refused to die that way. Tonight would have to be the exception, because she swore up and down that she would nag the hell out of Zoro until he washed the dishes, like he should have weeks ago.

Cautiously, Robin trotted down the steps to their basement. It had been wonderfully redesigned by herself to accommodate both her personal library and Zoro's exercise apparatuses. While admiring her interior design work, Robin wandered over to the Zoro side of the room.

"Zoro? Are you down here?" Robin called out.

Granted, she didn't expect a reply, especially since Zoro was always in some type of impenetrable zone when he was training. With this, she continued to explore.

Robin found it extremely strange that Zoro wasn't down there, but proceeded to turn to exit the room. She was met with the weight rack, bumping into it and stepping back. While silently admiring Zoro's ability to lift the massive things, Robin couldn't help but notice the low rumbling noise as the top one started to roll...

From the bedroom, where the swordsman was retrieving a face towel, Zoro's ears picked up on a cringe-worthy, piercing, blood-curdling _shriek_. He thought that, perhaps, it was one of the noisy children from the surrounding mansions, but thought otherwise upon hearing more and more of these noises. He narrowed his eye. He'd heard these screams before...

"Robin?!" Zoro bound down the stairs, freezing at the foot once he heard Robin's voice again.

"_Get your ass down here!_"

Immediately, Zoro deduced that Robin was in the basement. He continued to assume the worst as he sped down to the source of the wailing. Zoro told her multiple times not to dick around with his weights and such, but, as usual, she refused to do what she was told.

"Get this thing off me!"

One of Zoro's weights, the one with three massive metal rings on each end, had apparently fallen from its place on the rack and nestled itself onto Robin's left foot. Robin was still whimpering, staring at the weight as several of her Devil Fruit arms tried to remove it, but with no success. She looked at Zoro and roared, "Don't just stand there! _Help me!_"

Zoro rushed over and pushed the exercise apparatus away with one hand and little effort. He helped Robin down onto the floor so he could better inspect the damage and he cringed. Most of her foot had completely caved in, and some of the bones were protruding out of her skin from being snapped in half. He frowned. "Gross..."

"Why are you just standing there?! Take me to the fucking hospital!" Robin kicked Zoro in the chest with her good, unbroken foot as if to prompt him to stand.

"Damn, woman, stop yelling..." Zoro muttered as he plucked Robin off the floor. He rushed out of the basement with Robin wearing a scowl reminiscent of Zoro's usual one. He groaned, "I told you not to dick around down there."

"I was looking for your lazy ass!" Robin retorted as they exited the dojo.

"Lazy?! Woman, you don't know what the hell you're talking about!"

"I know that you're _lazy_!"

"Oi, oi!"

* * *

On his way home from a long day at the construction site, Zoro stopped by No Man's Land. Rather, it was a jewelry store, one at which Nami worked, but he used to swear up and down that he would never have a reason to go there. It was a new dawn for the swordsman: he happened to meet a girl with whom he fell in love. She was a girl who requested a blue diamond engagement ring, and Zoro would get her just that. Besides, Robin had been bed-ridden for a week now; it was the least he could do.

With his chest puffed out, Zoro strode up to the orange-haired woman behind the counter. Nami looked up and smirked. "I think the dollar store across the plaza is more suited to your budget."

"I don't have time for your childish games, little girl," Zoro countered. Before Nami could make a remark about the fact that he was only a year older than she was, he continued, "I've come to see about an engagement ring for Robin."

With a gleeful gasp, Nami trotted out from behind the counter and squealed, "You guys are getting married?!"

"Oi, oi! Stop screaming!" Zoro yelled. He exhaled sharply, pinching the bridge of his nose. He looked at Nami again. "She wants a blue diamond on her ring. One that matches her eyes, preferably."

"A _blue diamond_?" Nami raised her eyebrows. She began to walk around the room with Zoro in tow. "Those are extremely rare, you know. Most people sell fakes, but not us. We'll even give you a certificate of authenticity."

She stopped in front of a particular glass-encased display and produced a ring of keys from her right pocket. She unlocked the case, sliding the glass door open and pulling out a tray with four rings nestled into the cushioning.

Zoro's eye must have twinkled at the sight of them. Each one was brilliant and different. A fairly simple-looking one caught his attention: it was a silver band with small, indigo and light blue gems embedded inside. The center of the ring had a collection of silver diamonds building up to and surrounding a circular sky blue diamond.

"That one," Zoro decided, pointing at the ring. "She'll love that one."

Nami grabbed a calculator from a nearby surface and punched some numbers in. "With tax, it'll be... nine thousand and forty dollars."

"What?!" The swordsman exclaimed. "For that little thing?!"

"If you wish, you can throw your accumulated debt to me in with the price, take care of that... which will bring it up to..." Nami offered, tapping more keys on the calculator. "Twenty thousand, four hundred and fifty-seven dollars. And twenty-nine cents."

Zoro scoffed. "Anyway, I'll shop around. Preferably somewhere were I won't get massively ripped off."

Holding her hands up in defense and then dropping them to her hips, the employee asked, "How's Robin doing, anyway?"

"Bored," Zoro answered shortly. "She's gotta stay off her feet for a little bit, so she can't do much. She's hoarding snacks up in our room, since she can't really go up and down the stairs."

"Poor baby," Nami sighed. "I should probably visit sometime with a muffin basket."

Zoro smirked. "I'm sure she'd appreciate it. But I did something very affectionate today, if I do say so myself."

"And what was that? Locking up your weights this time?" Nami asked sarcastically with folded arms.

"Actually, witch," Zoro hissed in reply. "I figured that it would be a nice, boyfriend-like thing to do if I sent her some flowers."

"Awh! How sweet!" Nami cooed. Soon after, when Zoro grinned victoriously, her smile melted away. "Wait. What kind of flowers?"

Zoro arched an eyebrow at Nami's sudden urgency. "Uh... some carnations?"

Nami gasped and pushed Zoro roughly, yelling, "What the hell, man?! You're such a bastard! Why would you do that?!"

"What the hell are you howling about, woman?" Zoro stepped back and scowled.

"Hello? Don't you know anything about her?" Nami chided. She enunciated carefully as she spoke. "Robin's allergic to carnations!"

"Well, she's not gonna die, right?!" Zoro panicked.

Nami frowned. "Well, no. She just gets sneezy with some rashes thrown in there. But, still! Shame on you!"

"She never told me she was allergic to anything..." Zoro lamented, feeling a little betrayed. He thought he had a right to know these things as her boyfriend, yet, Nami knew something as crucial as this, and Zoro didn't. Where was the sense in that?

"Well, don't complain to me! Go home and check on her!"

"I was going to! Stop all that shouting!" Zoro barked, exiting the store immediately after.

The drive home was worry-filled for Zoro. Once he got to the somewhat isolated home, he bolted straight up the stairs. He'd arrived in the middle of Robin's sneezing fit and she caught sight of him for only a second. She mustered a smile and said, "Thank you for the flowers. They're lovely."

Ignoring her, Zoro trudged over to the window, opening it as widely as possible. He removed the bug screen, grasping the pot of pink and white carnations and swiftly defenestrating them. Robin watched with a frown - she hated to see those flowers go - and Zoro turned to face her, his hands on his hips. He exhaled through his nostrils and asked, "You alright?"

"I suppose," Robin briefly inspected her itchy, hive-covered arms, the cast over the lower half of her left leg, as well as the garbage can that overflowed with used facial tissues. "It'll pass."

"Why didn't you tell me you were allergic to those damn things?" Zoro demanded.

"It never came up," Robin shrugged. "Besides, it's a little ironic, don't you think? With my body parts being able to bloom? Like flowers?"

"Never mind that! I'm just..." Zoro shook his head and sat delicately beside her on the bed. "I just wanted to do somethin' nice for you. I feel really bad about... well, that."

The pair shared a glance at Robin's injured foot and the female smiled. "It's really not that... achoo! Ugh... it's not that bad."

"I feel like shit about it, anyway. Plus, I made everything worse with those goddamned flowers..."

"Oh, Zoro," Robin said softly, shifting closer to Zoro's side and rubbing his left arm. "I'm so happy that you would try to make me feel better... achoo!"

Zoro took the task of handing her a few tissues after yanking them from the polka-dot box. As he did this, he frowned in thought. "I just feel like there's so much I don't know about you..."

Recovering from her latest sneezing episode, Robin stared at Zoro and said, "Well, what do you want to know?"

The swordsman had never really thought about exactly what he wanted to know. Therefore, he put an arm around her so she could lean into him and answered, "Tell me about your day."

"Since I finished all the cookies, I ordered a pizza," Robin stated. "I hobbled over to the window and told the delivery guy to bring it upstairs. He was hitting on me. You know what I said to him?"

"What was that?" Zoro smiled in anticipation.

Robin smirked. "I told him that my boyfriend's a swordsman, and that one of his five hundred pound weights snapped my foot in half. I also told him that you'd be home any minute."

With an earnest laugh, Zoro kissed Robin's forehead. "That's my girl."

The female crinkled her nose at the wet touch. "What else do you want to know?"

"Uhm... most interesting thing you've ever done."

"Easy," Robin replied shortly. "I did ballet for fifteen years."

Zoro simpered. "I thought ballerinas were supposed to be super thin."

Robin glared viciously at her boyfriend. "Shut up."

"I'm listening," Zoro held his hands up in defense as he spoke. "Go on."

"You're an asshole," Robin said sourly. "Anyway, it all began when I was at the local pet store..."

* * *

**Hello, loyal readers~**

**You might be wondering why I decided to make Robin, of all people, allergic to a certain type of flower. If you watched Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island, you probably agree with me when I say that Robin's sudden obsession with flowers was irritating. It's like every other word out of her mouth was "hana" (meaning flower, of course). I decided to make her allergic to carnations because of the Lily Carnation... -shudders-**

**Just to clarify: I imagine Zoro and Robin living in a "neighborhood" of mansions. I remember someone telling me that people who work in construction make a lot of money, so, yes, you could say that those two are quite well off. I plan on sketching some designs for their house for reference.**

**Readers, I was thinking: I was considering perhaps writing one of these that takes place on Earth, rather than... wherever they are here, which I never really thought through. Whoops. I just really want someone to refer to Russia (where Robin would be from if One Piece took place in the real world, as specified by Oda) as the place "with the funny hats and the squat kicks". Let me know if you would like to read one of those, please!**

**I'll see you next chapter. :')**

**P.S. Can anyone guess where Zoro heard Robin scream before? ;)**


	9. push

**Disclaimer: One Piece is the property of Eiichiro Oda. Author's notes are at the bottom**.

More than anything, Robin valued her individuality.

Ever since she was young, she had a very good idea of the person she was and who she hoped to become. She was an eccentric bookworm with a high tendency to be morbid, and she liked that about her. She occasionally sang in the shower, and she never used her powers for evil - unless someone truly deserved it. She was stubborn and hated talking about her feelings. Another thing that she knew very well was that she would never change any of that for anybody.

However, it was then, when she entered her eighteenth week of her married life with her green-haired husband, that she realized that some change was inevitable. Granted, she and Zoro were both alike to begin with; both were level-headed, crafty and overall focused people. Even with these similarities, Robin could feel herself losing touch with the eccentric, morbid bookworm within, and nothing terrified her more than that. It was with this budding fear that she began to distance herself from her husband, rediscovering herself on her own, because she promised herself that she would never fail at staying true to who she was.

But she knew how Zoro could get. She often recalled the time before their engagement that he'd gotten so upset because she divided her attention between him and a _book_. Zoro needed her, and it was perfectly clear to anyone who knew him. It wasn't as if she didn't appreciate his loving her so deeply, so unconditionally, but it was all just so overbearing. Marriage, to her, began to seem like she'd signed a contract that entailed Zoro owning her, and that did not sit well in the deep recesses of her heart. The pedestal on which Zoro's mind placed her was not where she belonged, and he needed to know that.

Robin contemplated all of this over vanilla-flavoured coffee, inside a mug that she'd purchased during her astrology phase - plain white with two parallel, zigzagging lines over the words: "Aquarius: Jan 20 - Feb 18". A contemplative frown creased her lips upon remembering how upset Zoro got when Robin informed him that they weren't astrologically compatible and he threatened to throw the porcelain creation out the window. Robin sighed mentally in thought of Zoro's sensitivity, and the thought alone irked her deeply.

"So, she's out of the cave."

Robin turned her head to the source of the noise to see that Zoro had come back inside from meditating in the garden. At his entering statement, Robin rolled her eyes and swept over to the sink to wash the now empty mug. "Shut up."

"You've delivered icier comebacks before, Robin," Zoro claimed as he approached her, wrapping his strong arms around her unsuspecting frame. "Everything alright?"

"I'm fine." It took every fibre of control within the woman for her not to jam an elbow into his ribs. With sudden irritation, she dropped the mug into the sink and turned around. "Don't touch me."

Zoro's brow creased as he placed his hands on the counter on either side of Robin. "Geez, woman, no need to get angry. You've been a little distant lately, is all."

"Have you ever thought that there's some sort of reasoning behind that? Unless, as usual, you consider it a two-dimensional problem that can be fixed with coitus," Robin quipped, pushing Zoro away and starting for the staircase. "I'll be upstairs."

Zoro was hot on her heels, replying, "What the hell is going on? I can't be concerned about my _wife_?"

"I don't need you to babysit me, Zoro!" The female turned around, staring harshly at the swordsman. "Much less do I need you to make these snarky little comments all the time!"

Zoro folded his arms across his chest. "Why are you being such a bitch all of a sudden? I'll never be able to understand you."

With a scoff, Robin matched his pose. "I'll never be able to understand why you're trying to solve whatever problem there is here by calling me a bitch! That is the most backwards problem-solving method I've ever heard of!"

"Tch! It's the only way I can get your attention, anyway! You're always acting like I'm just here so you can have someone baby you all the time!"

"Why aren't you listening to me, Zoro?!"

"Out with it, then! What's the problem?!" Zoro stepped closer to her and, in turn, she did, as well. "Stop trying to be all mysterious and just _tell me_!"

Robin ground her teeth and avoided Zoro's demanding gaze. She knew for sure that, should she bring up her recent thoughts, their already heated argument would get worse. When they fought, it got really bad, really fast. Yet, the stirring anger within her compelled her to reply quietly. "You're smothering me."

"What was that? Speak up."

"I said you're smothering me," Robin repeated loudly. "You're acting like you own me and it's suffocating."

"Don't make me laugh, woman!" Zoro scoffed. "As if I could even _imagine_ owning someone as stubborn and stuck-up as you!"

Robin was livid now. Though she valued honestly, she absolutely loathed Zoro's airy reaction to the truth she'd been hiding for years now. Her heart was heavy and its beating thundered in her ears as she barked, "It's the truth, isn't it?! You think you govern what I do and what I say, don't you?!"

Now standing toe-to-toe with her, Zoro combated, "That's just what you want to believe! It's like you want me to go to war with you over the pettiest things!"

"And you would be okay with that, wouldn't you?!"

"The last time I checked, you were the one who was tearing this relationship apart." Zoro growled. "You couldn't care less if we went our separate ways. You know _damn well_ that you don't give a shit about whether or not what we have is working. You don't do shit to keep this marriage alive and you know it."

Threatened and taken aback as she was, Robin stood her ground with a tight, constricting throat. "That's because you won't let me! You just want me to look like the bad guy here!"

"You don't need my help; you do that all on your own!"

"What is so bad about me finally trying to love someone?" Robin's voice faltered and tears streamed down her cheeks. "What the hell is so bad about me letting go of what I want and putting everything I have into our relationship, Zoro?! I _do_ care about whether or not this works out!"

"No, you don't!" Zoro shot back, too blinded with anger to process her tears. "You don't care at all! You don't care about me!"

"Yes, I do!" Robin sobbed. "I have never felt so strongly about someone, and that terrifies me! What hurts the most is that you don't see that! No matter how hard I try to stop being this aloof, isolated person so you can see that I care, you just don't see it! It's not fair that I'm trying, too, and you just don't believe me!"

Zoro exhaled in an attempt to stop yelling and listen, but he grit his teeth and snarled, "You're doing it again."

"What are you talking about?" Robin inquired sharply, frantically wiping her cheeks.

"You're playing the victim again," Zoro accused. "You keep using your oh-so-difficult past against me to make me feel bad about being honest with you. How am I supposed to trust what you're telling me?"

With renewed defiance, Robin responded, "Don't you dare stand there and act like you know what my life was like! Don't act like you know whether or not spending your life without a real place to call home - without your _parents_ - is easy! Zoro, you don't know what it's like to feel as if your own family didn't care about you enough to stay with you! My own family abandoned me, and it was goddamn tough! I don't need you to tell me otherwise!"

Once the words left her mouth and she thought about her loneliness, she had begun to sob again. At the sound of Robin's crying, something snapped within Zoro. Rather, something loosened within him; seeing her break down and express such uninhibited emotion brought up the need for him to soothe her, despite what he'd said. "Robin, I... I didn't mean to hurt you."

"You did, Zoro." She mumbled, stretching the sleeve of her grey sweater over her hand to wipe her tears and the fresh ones that followed. She nodded and sniffed. "I get it now."

Speechless, Zoro stared after her as she wordlessly moved to retrieve her messenger bag and car keys from the dining room table. She slung the bag over her shoulder and started for the door. Zoro followed dumbly, stumbling after her until he caught her wrist.

"Let go of me, Zoro." Robin said without looking back.

"Please, don't leave me. Not now." Zoro pleaded.

Robin kept attempting to tug her arm free, now glaring at Zoro. She choked out, "Why are you doing this?"

Zoro could only stare. Why _was_ he doing this? He was the one who accused her of not caring, and here she was, confirming his belief. So, why was he so adamant in keeping her? "You're not leaving me forever, are you?"

"Why shouldn't I? It'll be a load off your shoulders, that's for sure." Robin tried, her words now uninterrupted by emotion as she regained her defenses.

"Because it's pathetic of you to leave because of a stupid _fight._ I thought that you were less of a coward-"

Her open palm collided with his left cheek in an earnest, resounding slap. Zoro's grip loosened in his surprise, buying Robin enough time to free herself from his hold and slip her feet into a pair of flats. Not once did she look back, not even to further retort, as she left the house.

* * *

Spending a night without Zoro's warmth by her side was strange, the idea almost completely forgotten. That night, there was no Zoro. None of him pulling her in close from behind if she stirred even slightly; none of him absently kissing her shoulder blades and neck; none of him mumbling her name, or, simply, "woman", in his slumber. It was cold under the hotel comforter, and, wrapping her arms around herself, Robin wished for his warmth.

Robin had never felt as victimized and vulnerable as she had the previous night. She was ashamed that she allowed her emotions to shine through at such a moment; to her, that meant she lost the fight. He was much better at keeping his composure than she, and that was a difference she admitted to herself in her solitude. It was a quality, a _blessing_, that Robin had always longed to possess, and she could never acquire such a skill.

He'd been so cruel. She broke down right before him, and he belittled her further. Zoro had never taken advantage of whatever sensitivity she showed, but nothing was stopping him from doing so then. The crushing disappointment of realizing that the man that claimed he was so good to her was the same one who intended to hurt her was overwhelming. Robin refused to go back to that.

The following Saturday morning, Robin's eyes opened and she happened to be facing the bedside table, where her mobile phone rested. She'd turned it off, knowing that Zoro would pester her, but she decided in her early moments of rising from her slumber that she would meet up with Nami and rant to her. Granted, Nami would blow the whole thing way out of proportion, but she was a good listener, and it was with that thought that Robin moved to restore the device's power. She prepared herself to dispose of all the messages Zoro could have left her in one night, but raised her eyebrows upon seeing the screen.

A single voicemail from him.

Just one. Surely, there should have been more - Zoro could be persistent as hell - however... just _one_? Robin was truly perplexed. He must not have had much to say to her, given the fact that he'd gotten it all out in their argument, but there was only one way to find out.

_"Ugh, goddamn it... damn it. Fuck!"_

Robin furrowed her eyebrows. Had he really called her just to curse at her?

_"Robin... I don't... fuck! I just- I don't... know. I don't know what to fucking __**say **__right now. Well, I'm sorry, okay?! Is that what you want?! Because I'm fucking sorry. I fuckin' hate myself for making you cry. You don't __**cry**__, Robin. You never cry, but you did today, and I hate myself for it. I just- agh, I fucking hate myself!"_

Zoro wasn't normally this self-loathing. That, plus his acknowledgment of what was bothering Robin the most, intrigued her enough to listen.

_"Listen... if you're fuckin'… I mean... if you're leaving me forever, then I get it. Because, fuck, if I thought I was good enough to be your husband, I was so... __**so **__wrong. I'm such an immature, stupid asshole who doesn't know what he has. And I have - or maybe __**had**__ - the most gorgeous, smart, and weirdest girl there is, and I fucking love her. I love her, and I drove her away."_

Robin softened at this. She was glad that he identified the fact that he did something to hurt her, but all the blame wasn't entirely on him. She provoked him. And it wasn't as if he was that bad of a person; he was a brilliant and fascinating lover, and she would never willingly jeopardize their relationship.

_"If you're leaving me, that's fine. I hope you'll find someone who can make you happy. I won't bother you anymore. Just know that... I love you, okay? I love you. I love you."_

Once the message ended, Robin knew that she had to say something back to him. As for her permanently staying away from him, that had yet to be determined, but she simply had to say something to him. She stood at the side of the bed with the phone in hand, chewing on her bottom lip as she dialled their house's phone number. Robin closed her eyes, hoping that Zoro wouldn't answer. It plain broke her heart to hear him so upset, and she didn't want to hear any more of it than she needed to. When the ringing paused, the woman breathed a sigh of pure relief upon hearing their answering machine.

Zoro's voice came first. _"You've reached Roronoa Zoro. Obviously, I'm not here-"_

_"Ahem, what about your wife?" _ Robin's voice interrupted.

_"We're not here. So, yeah, leave a message... you're so irritating, woman."_

_"You've reached Robin, as well!"_

_"Shut up!"_

_"I live here too, in case you've forgotten, Zoro."_

_"How could I forget with all your damn squawking?"_

_"Leave a message at the tone!"_

Robin smiled and shook her head. The tone sounded. "We've been meaning to re-record that, haven't we? Anyway ... I got your message. While I don't know if I want to let go of what we have just yet, I'm still not sure when I'll be back... _if_ I'll be back. I just need some time to think on my own. Get a clear head."

Robin began to pace, biting her bottom lip. "It's not that I hate you, Zoro. It's just... some of the things you said made me wonder if you and I will really last. And it's nice to think that we will because, hey, that's the idea, right? I just know that... something needs to change. You and I... we need a lot of work. A lot."

She was silent for a moment. She sighed quietly. "And I love you, too."

* * *

Robin had an interesting thirty days: she spent time with Nami and Usopp, as well as their little boy, Scott; she cut her bangs again, though she would miss her longer tresses; she got drunk - as in drunk-off-her-ass drunk - at her old friend Paula's birthday party; she played strip poker with Vivi, Franky and Luffy's older brother, Ace, and won all three times.

Robin also got a tattoo. It ran along her side and it read: _Love is cursed by monogamy._ She'd been a little upset that day.

Amongst all the excitement, herself and Zoro had begun a practice of leaving each other messages every so often. They had this mutual understanding of the fact that they wanted to keep in touch without really talking back and forth. With voicemails and answering machines, there was no room for interruption. That way, their only options were to shut up and listen to one another. They didn't limit their discussions to their fight, though; they kept each other updated on little events in their lives. Robin reminded herself to congratulate Zoro on his dojo's win at a kendo championship.

Even with this, Robin had never been more nervous about entering her own house than on that Sunday morning. It was useless to keep worrying about running into Zoro at this stage in the game; all she could do was wait and see how it would all play out. Her eyes drank in their surroundings, searching for some sign of change in the house, and she found nothing. Near the staircase, though, in the wall, Zoro seemed to have been repairing a large, cracking hole.

Robin frowned. "Oh, Zoro..."

As if she had called out for him, Zoro emerged from the den. He was clad in a pair of green plaid pajama pants and nothing else. He was scratching his head and yawning, and when he stopped, his unsealed eye widened and he blinked it a few times as he assessed her. His lips parted as if to say something, but waited a few seconds before saying, "Your hair's... different."

Robin chuckled and studied Zoro as well. "I think you may have gotten more muscular."

Zoro shrugged and laughed along with Robin. He quieted and smiled. "Hey."

"Hi." The female swept across the foyer to wrap her arms around the compilation of muscle filling him to the brim, his scars, and his coarse skin. It was only when she did this did she realize that, _damn, _she missed him.

"I'm really glad you're back..." Zoro mumbled into her hair.

"I missed you," Robin confessed. She then pulled back and looked up at Zoro. The dark brown iris she was expecting to see was still there, yes, but its surroundings were red and lined with veins. She reached up to stroke Zoro's face with her thumbs and said softly, "Oh, Zoro, have you been crying?"

"No," Zoro lied. He turned his head sharply and a frown creased his features, and Robin simply smiled. He really hadn't changed at all. "Anyway, Robin... we should, uhm..."

"Talk? Agreed."

As Zoro moved to let go of her, he gripped her sides - therefore, one of his hands squeezed her freshly healing tattoo. She yelped and he pulled back. "Oh, my God, are you okay?"

Robin squirmed momentarily to work the stinging from her right side and then nodded. "Yeah, it's just... just some ink there. It's fine."

"A tattoo, huh? Can I see it?" Zoro smirked and licked his lips.

Robin pressed her lips together and decided, "Maybe later. Shall we sit on the new couch?"

"Uh... yeah, sure." Zoro led the way, his bare feet slapping against the wooden planks on the floor. She followed him down to the carpeted den and watched as Zoro started to gather a few things from the couch in question: three blankets, two pillows and a few clothes here and there.

Robin arched an eyebrow. "Were you living down here?"

Zoro straightened after unloading the folded, aforementioned items onto an armchair nearby. He wiped his hands off on his pants and he nodded timidly. "Just didn't feel right. Sleeping upstairs without you."

_I know the feeling._ Robin didn't reply out loud. She simply seated herself beside the swordsman and crossed her legs on the leather cushion. Sensing that he wasn't really in the mood to initiate conversation, she started, "I've been thinking about what happened recently. I've been thinking about it a lot."

"Me, too." Zoro murmured. He looked at Robin. "About that... I'm really sorry. I don't want you to feel like I was attacking you or anything. I certainly didn't want to make you leave. I don't know what happened. I just... I guess I just lost it..."

Zoro bowed his head and ran his fingers through his hair. Robin couldn't help but imagine that this was what he looked like when he'd left her that voicemail. It was this that compelled Robin to say, "Zoro, it's okay. I don't blame you for anything. If anything, you helped me learn how important compromise is. Even for two stubborn people like us."

Slowly looking up, Zoro sighed. He knit his hands together in his lap. "And how do you suppose we do that? Compromise, I mean."

Even though she suggested the idea, Robin frankly hadn't given any thought to just how she would complete the task at hand. "Uh... well, I suppose that I can try to better appreciate the things you do for me."

"Damn straight."

"Compromise is a multi-person effort, Zoro."

The male scowled. "I guess I should give you your space when you need it. Be less... overbearing."

Robin nodded slowly. They sat in pregnant silence until Zoro said, "What do we do now?"

"We work towards achieving a better understanding of each other's needs and wants." Robin proposed. She took Zoro's hand in hers. "That way, we won't ever... _ever_ fight like that again."

Zoro offered a weak smile. "I wouldn't dream of it... can I tell you something, Robin?"

"Of course."

Zoro nestled his fingers between hers. "Whenever you and I had an argument and we didn't solve it or whatever, I always got so scared that you would just up and leave. And when you did that night, I didn't know how to handle it. It was literally my worst nightmare playing out before my eyes, and it was terrifying. I built my whole life around this relationship - around _you_ - and, for a month, I lost it all. So, please, if ever you feel like something isn't right between us, promise you'll tell me. Don't scare me like that ever again. Please."

Robin's throat got tight again. Zoro's plea was simple, yet so heartbreaking in such a complex way. Any other day, she would have told him that he was overreacting, but that afternoon was different. He was scared and hurt - a side of Zoro that almost never showed. How exhilarating, she thought, for him to really express those feelings for someone who rarely did. "I promise."

"Good," Zoro breathed while squeezing Robin's hand. "Good."

* * *

**According to Microsoft Word, this chapter was 3,836 words long, thus making it my longest entry thus far. Huh.**

**This drabble clearly had a bit more of a serious tone than the other eight, especially since it involved Zoro and Robin's actual marriage as opposed to them simply dating. This one is set during their marriage because I wanted to show how both Zoro and Robin felt about possibly throwing away years and years of commitment over one disagreement. I'll admit to using this as my stress drabble; as of late, I haven't been feeling too happy. Their argument in this chapter wasn't supposed to be as long as it was, but, as my bad feelings came and went, I vented through making it longer. I can't say that I'm feeling much better, but I'm sure I will if you let me know that you actually enjoyed this one. :')**

**In other news, music greatly helped me in the writing of this drabble. In this case, I've decided to compile a ZoRobin playlist. It won't include downloads or anything, since I don't want to get into that whole file transfer mess, but the link to the list will be on my profile soon. My main musical accompaniments for the process of writing this were Jazmine Sullivan's "Lions, Tigers, Bears" and Stef Lang's "Straitjacket". Those two songs really capture Robin's feelings here, as I tried to make this chapter more Robin-centric.**

**See you next chapter.**

**- Angela**


	10. companion

For but a moment, seeing Zoro stuff a few of his belongings away into a single gym bag frightened Robin, and that feeling prompted her to inquire, "Where are you hoping to go, kenshi-san?"

Zipping the bag and tossing its contents around briefly, Zoro glanced at the entrance of the bedroom and smirked at a visibly very worried Robin. He sauntered up to her and kissed her forehead, wrapping an arm around her slender waist. "Would I really do that to you, babe?"

"_Ufufufu, _I suppose not," the archaeologist responded. She transferred her mug of coffee to her left hand and leaned into Zoro. "Is this a surprise vacation? Our anniversary isn't for another ten months."

Zoro crinkled his nose. "Not really. See, Franky's been working on something for years now. It's something kind of like a coach bus; one of those ones for long trips with the comfy seats and the gross little washroom in the back."

"Has he, now?" Robin's face took on a slightly awed and impressed expression as she spoke.

"It's all that big lug ever talks about, anyway. He let everyone know that it's all finished about a week ago, so he told us that he's gonna take all of us down to Saboady in the Grand Line for the weekend." Zoro explained, and then motioned to his packed belongings. "We're due to get going bright and early tomorrow morning. It's a pretty big deal. Hell, we've been planning the whole thing since he got the blueprints started."

A slight frown creased Robin's lips. She hadn't been around for the hatching of the predetermined plans; who was she to intrude on something they'd all been looking forward to? "I hope you'll all have fun, then. Take my camera; I need to fill my new album."

"Whoa, what do you mean, 'you guys have fun'?" Zoro quickly interrogated, looking at Robin intently. "You're not coming?"

As if it were obvious, Robin stared back and shrugged a shoulder. "I assumed your plans were tailored to the nine of you. I would hate to interfere."

The swordsman made a face at Robin's words. He pulled her in close and pressed his lips to her forehead again. "What did I tell you, sweetheart? You're a part of the gang now. The family."

"Oh, Zoro, I don't know."

"Come on. There's lots of old historical shit you can look at. Besides, I'll be lonely without you."

One look at Zoro's pout and Robin was sold. She chuckled, "I suppose I should start packing, then."

* * *

"This is so exciting," Vivi commented with a clap of her hands. "I wonder what it looks like!"

"I bet it's all talk." Nami pursed her lips.

Robin stood at Nami's side and giggled, "It's all quite dramatic, isn't it?"

The most excitable of the crew, consisting of Luffy, Brook and Chopper, bounced in place in clear anticipation of the grand revealing. Sanji focused more on his cigarette, clearly sympathizing with Nami's view of the whole event.

Franky took his signature pose - forearms pressed together over his head with a slight lean to the left - as he boomed, "Introducing... the Thousand Sunny!"

The whole group gathered before the Franky Family Car Garage for the unveiling of Franky's supposed brilliant project. Zoro and Usopp stood at either side of the tall, wide garage and nodded at each other before lifting the door, which automatically opened the remainder of the way to reveal this Thousand Sunny. Once Franky stepped out of the way and another blue-haired man drove the masterpiece out of the garage, the group realized that it truly was something awe-worthy: it had the appearance of a modernized pirate ship, with an innocently smiling, almost childish lion figurehead at the front. Paint was spread along the vehicle to create the illusion of wooden planks being used to build the mighty contraption, along with tasteful red and white detailing. The bus must have been at least four storeys high, along with a grassy observation deck at the very top. It was an obnoxious thing, truly, but it didn't fail to make the eyes of the observers sparkle in awe.

"Amazing, amazing, amazing!" Luffy and Chopper squeaked, both of them bolting at full speed up to the Thousand Sunny to inspect it. Soon afterward, Usopp and Brook joined the two of them.

"It's like a castle!" Vivi gasped in awe with her hands pressed against her cheeks.

"And nothing less!" Franky confirmed, adjusting his sunglasses with a grin. "It's a damn masterpiece! First class seating, a top-of-the-line dining room, luxury lodging, a classy lounge, and a spring-themed observation deck - all in that order, from bottom to the very top!"

Amidst all the noisy excitement, Zoro led Robin by the hand to the bus. He looked back to ask, "Aren't you glad you decided to come along?"

"Oi, Zoro! Robin!" Luffy shouted from his seat on the figurehead, despite how Sanji shouted at him to "get his rubber ass inside the shitty bus". "Hurry up! Let's set sail!"

Amusedly, Robin answered, "We'll have to wait and see."

Robin came up with a definite answer that Friday - yes, she was delighted to have come along. The trip itself was marvelously eventful in its early moments: Luffy literally bounced off the walls as he explored the coach bus with Franky threatening him about just what would happen should the boy leave damage in his wake all the while; Sanji, who had bought and supplied his own groceries and cooking apparatuses, prepared several meals for the crew while steadily swooning over the ladies and arguing with Zoro; Brook played a lively tune on the lounge's piano with several voices as his accompaniment; Vivi got drunk off a half bottle of fairly cheap, but, very strong sake and volunteered for some karaoke; Robin told scary stories on the observation deck at nightfall, which were frightening enough to cause Usopp, Nami and Chopper to cling to one another and shiver.

Just under a day after their departure, they arrived at the Grand Line District, the daytime fun and nightlife central of their neck of the woods. Saboady Archipelago was, as the name suggested, a series of islands with several attractions spread across them, its most prominent one being the amusement park. A network of ferry transportation systems would take them from place to place, anywhere on the Grand Line, as outlined on the tourist maps provided.

"You were right, Zoro; there's a museum on the northern island," Robin commented from her seat on the bed herself and Zoro shared. "Perhaps we can go on Sunday morning."

With this eye harshly narrowed, Zoro slowly tilted his head upwards. "North...?"

Robin touched her fingers to her lips and giggled. "Oh, Zoro, you joker."

His thin lips parted to protest, but came together in a satisfied smirk upon seeing Robin's laughter. Her soft tittering wasn't the only thing he heard, but something louder in the next room over. Overlapping shouting. Craning his neck, Zoro noted, "Uh-oh. Trouble in paradise?"

With her curiosity peaking slowly, Robin hoped that the dueling pair wouldn't notice the ear on the wall. To keep Zoro updated on what she heard while eavesdropping, she commented, "Usopp's asking how Nami could do something like this."

"Like what?"

"Shhh... 'It was for the best. Don't you want me to be happy?' Nami's countered. There's some stomping, and the door's open."

"Bet she robbed a bank." Zoro joked.

"It won't hurt if I decide to saunter out into the hall, will it?" Robin inquired cheekily. She swept across the room and slipped into the narrow hallway of the bus. In his furious stride, Usopp narrowly avoided knocking Robin over. She started and stepped back, eyes wide.

Nami was following closely behind, tears in her eyes. "Where are you going? Usopp!"

"What the hell do you care, anyway?!" Usopp retorted.

Nami's steps faltered at this as Usopp disappeared down the staircase, leaving his wife and Robin there. Nami sniffed and Robin blinked. The older woman reflected, "I don't think I've ever seen him so upset..."

"We've never fought like that before..." Nami lamented. She sobbed and sunk to the ground with her back against the wall and her tired hands clasped over her red eyes.

Robin knelt beside Nami. "What happened?"

A very slight pout arose on Nami's lips. The married woman gave a deep sigh and avoided Robin's caring gaze. "I cheated... well, I've _been_ cheating on him. Usopp."

Robin supposed that this was what Usopp meant when he asked how Nami could "do something like that". "Are you unhappy with your marriage? I don't imagine it could be so easy to just up and have an affair behind the back of someone you've been married to for..."

"A year and two months, I think," Nami concluded. "And I'm not unhappy. Shame on you for insinuating such a thing, Robin."

Upon seeing Robin throw her hands up in defense, Nami twisted her lips. "I wasn't drunk or anything. I knew full well that I was doing. It's just... I just wanted to feel a little special for once. I needed a guy with all his shit together, unlike Usopp, and Sanji-kun gave me that. You understand, right?"

Robin didn't wait to take a breath before she responded. "Barely. Why marry Usopp if he wasn't what you wanted?"

Nami's eyes narrowed for a moment before she scoffed and shook her head. She stood and placed her hands on her hips. "Some best friend you are. You're supposed to sympathize with me, not lecture me."

"I'm telling you the truth," Robin noted as she rose to her full height. "It's my duty as an anti-sugarcoater, and your _friend_."

"I don't need this," Nami decided as she trudged away from Robin. She slammed the door to hers and Usopp's room in perfect unison with Robin's annoyed scoff.

The archaeologist returned to the bedroom that herself and Zoro shared, announcing, "Nami cheated on Usopp with Sanji. It's all very dramatic."

"Damn ero-cook," Zoro flopped onto the bed, his stomach pressing into the mattress with his legs reaching out over the edge. He looked to his girlfriend, who seated herself beside him with a pensive expression. Zoro inquired, "Something troubling you, sweetheart?"

"Not quite," Robin remarked. She cautiously took Zoro's hand and exhaled. "I hope that what happened to them won't happen to us."

"As long as you don't leave me for the cyborg, we won't have a problem." Zoro answered jokingly.

"Zoro, seriously." Robin looked downward at the swordsman. "Usopp and Nami were my idea of the perfect couple at one point. It was what I wanted for us. I can't help but wonder... are we doomed to have our relationship fall apart like that?"

Zoro gave a quick shake of his head and replied, "Not if I have a say in it."

"And as sweet as that sounds, arguments are inevitable. We're already almost always fighting about something - how long will it be before you leave? Or _I_ leave? Or _something_?" The female cradled her head in her hands. "Why does it matter so much to me, anyway? That's just life. People leave."

"It matters so much to you because, just like me, you want this to work," Zoro answered. "Robin, it's okay to hope for the best. Just because life wasn't easy for you back then doesn't mean that it can't get easier now. Don't be so hard on yourself."

Robin frowned slightly, unconvinced. Zoro squeezed her hand lightly and added, "These things just happen. The best thing you can do is roll with the punches."

Slumping where she was seated, Robin reached over to run her fingers through Zoro's hair. "I need to listen to you more often."

"Damn straight," Zoro agreed. "You're not the only one who can get all smarty-pants philosophical, you know."

"_Ufufufu_, I know. I'm rubbing off on you, I see."

"You just might be. Next, I'll be walking around with my nose in a book."

"Just don't get lost on the way."

"Oi, oi."

"I love you, Zoro."

"Love you, Robin."

* * *

**Drabble number ten! *throws confetti***

**My UsoNa feels were majorly toyed with by my own two hands. I've betrayed my own feels. Plus, I've concluded that the Thousand Sunny would be a real road hog. And a pain in the ass when it comes to fueling.**

**Anyway, hello, readers! I am glad to report that I'm feeling much better, especially after receiving such wonderful feedback on my last drabble. Thank you all for sticking by me for the first third of this series of drabbles – I hope you'll be around for much longer. I love you all!**

**- Angela**


	11. memory

**Disclaimer: One Piece is the property of Eiichiro Oda. Author's notes are at the bottom.**

* * *

A single, oversized red velvet cupcake was plucked from its place on the kitchen counter by Zoro's gentle grip, ensuring that he wouldn't completely destroy the thing before he could complete his mission. He perched the lit purple and silver in the perfect center of the cream cheese icing, carefully piercing the red-dyed cake until the sides of his fingers only just grazed the white decoration. Zoro then lifted the bright red porcelain plate off the dinner table and eyed the treat closely as he began his trek back up to his and Robin's bedroom. It was the midnight of February 6th - Robin's birthday.

"Hey, sleepyhead," Zoro smirked as he settled into bed beside his slightly stirring girlfriend. He presented her with the cupcake as she blinked the sleep away. "Happy birthday, babe."

Robin smiled, pulling herself up into a sitting position with a satisfying stretch. She rasped, "You remembered?"

"Now, Robin, how could I forget the birthday of the love of my life?" Zoro countered. Motioning towards the cupcake with a head nod, he prompted, "Make a wish."

Robin wrapped herself in the comforter with only her face and frizzy hair visible. She twisted her lips in thought. "Perhaps I should wish not to gain a large sum of weight after eating this. Are you trying to fatten me up, Zoro?"

"It's not like I made it myself. The ero-cook did," Zoro answered. A smug grin inched its way across Zoro's lips. "Besides, your ass is big enough."

"Hush. I'm trying to make a wish."

The swordsman held his tongue, refraining from making a naughty remark about why he enjoyed following her up the stairs. He took to staring at Robin instead. While he was taking in Robin's what seemed to be ageless beauty - she was in her early thirties, if Zoro wasn't mistaken, and he appreciated older women - he found himself being taken back. Taken back by the way the candlelight highlighted and darkened her features at the same time, he was, and it made him consider how fast the time flew by before their eyes. Granted, it looked as if Robin hadn't aged a day since that snowy evening all those years ago, but something about that candlelight and, now, how her bright blue eyes flickered up to him, forced him to remember.

* * *

Winter blizzards were uncommon in Zoro's region of East Blue, in which, coincidentally, the Dawn Island Hotel stood. There was one many, many years ago, as described by the news, but it wasn't nearly as heavy and dangerous as this. Therefore, it must have been by utter chance, by some _fluke_, then, that Zoro ended up stuck with Robin in her hotel room. And as if that wasn't enough, they were in the dark; the high winds forced the power out of its normal task of actually working. The two of them, the swordsman and the archaeologist, resorted to using various antique lanterns with tea candles inside them, causing several patterns to appear on the walls around them. Neither of them paid much attention to these patterns, though; they were too busy partaking in a grand abundance of Chinese food. They would need sustenance if they were to stay there for God knows how long.

And it was driving Zoro insane.

Aside from the delicious taste of the takeout, there was something else that was prominent in Zoro's mind. An issue, rather - an issue he would solve as soon as possible. He decided this in the busy silence that himself and Robin were sharing in that moment as he watched her manoeuvre around her share of foodstuffs with a pair of chopsticks.

"Thanks again for teaching me how to use these chopsticks, Zoro," Robin nodded. "Perhaps I can purchase a pair of my own. I'm thinking ... something in purple."

Zoro shrugged. "Whatever."

The archaeologist, puzzled and just the tiniest bit stung by Zoro's lack of enthusiasm in his reply, paused and set the aforementioned eating apparatuses down on top of a closed container of dumplings. She studied his sombre, bordering on thoughtful expression beneath the light of the star-patterned lantern. She inquired, "Is there something on your mind, kenshi-san?"

"What are we doing here, Robin?"

Zoro's question was urgent and rushed, supported by his harsh stare at Robin. The female answered, "Well, Zoro, we are currently eating Chinese food during a blackout caused by a snowstorm."

"I meant _us_. What's going on with _us_, Robin?" Zoro pressed. "Because I don't get it."

Robin held back a sigh and ran her fingers through her hair. Small talk was her specialty; anything too in-depth or emotional made her uneasy. "We're friends."

That word, and hearing Robin use it to describe what they had, made Zoro burn on the inside. "And just how did that happen? It sure didn't _seem_ like the setup for friendship when we first met."

"Zoro, not now."

"It's not like we're going anywhere. Not with this weather." Zoro retorted shortly. He noted Robin's taken aback, if not shocked expression and exhaled slowly, his eye closed. Zoro continued, "Just... let me explain."

Slowly, not knowing what to expect, Robin answered, "The floor is yours."

"Look, Robin. I..." Zoro fumbled, looking for words, but resumed quickly. "I asked you that question because, while I like being your... _friend_, I just feel so unsatisfied with it. In the sense that we can be so much more."

"Zoro..."

"Robin, please." Zoro cautioned. Staring at the floorboards, he continued, "I think about you all the time. Being around you is always the highlight of my day. I can't even attempt to understand the way your thought process works, and I love that kind of mystery. I feel like... no, I _know_ that I can be really good to you, and I've just been so afraid to say so all this time. After all this time... I'm not scared to say that I really want to be with you. I want to be with you, Robin."

Something clenched and twisted in Robin's chest. Every nerve ending in her body was tingling, evident by the way her fingers twisted between each other into a neat fold in her lap. Her cheeks and ears felt hot and she shifted in her spot on the floor. With a quick shake of her head, Robin stated, "No, you don't."

Zoro bristled. "What the hell do you mean, 'no, you don't'? I pour my heart out to you and you reply with something like that?"

"You don't get it, Zoro."

"What's not to get?!"

"If you would just _listen_!" Robin barked. Just as Zoro had, she closed her eyes and breathed a sigh. She turned her head and looked out the window. "All of my relationships end in chaos. You're a really good guy. I don't want you getting hurt that way."

"It won't be that way with me, Robin," Zoro confirmed, staring at her until she met his gaze. "I promise."

"And I would love to believe that, Zoro, but promises were made to be broken. I learned that the hard way." Robin insisted. Her eyes were fixated on the lantern between her and Zoro. "If things were different, then..."

"Don't let your past dictate your future."

Robin looked up. Zoro smirked and held up the fortune from the freshly cracked cookie, saying, "Well, would you look at that? The cookie's on my side."

Robin couldn't help but smile. She giggled as she chided, "You're such a child, Zoro."

Zoro studied the rectangular slip of paper. "This has gotta be some sort of sign. This fortune with my confession. This snowstorm making it impossible for me to leave. Looks like you'll have to give me an answer."

Robin didn't avert her eyes this time around. She felt she _couldn't_ - not with such a display of what she had to call destiny before her. "Perhaps fate ordained this meeting."

The intense stare, void of any potential awkwardness, continued. It was silent; with both of their brains - and, perhaps, their hearts - on overdrive, it was hard to find anything to say. It was an energy exchange, of sorts. Robin was the first to break this stare. She leaned over the lantern, clasped Zoro's face in her hands and pressed her lips to his. When she did this, she noticed how honest Zoro really was about the entire affair. He kissed back eagerly without a moment's hesitation, reaching out to grasp Robin's waist. He wrapped his arms around it soon after, pulling Robin in - thankfully, she evaded the lantern in her descent.

As they gasped for breath, Zoro demanded, "Don't tell me that you didn't feel something just now."

"I did," Robin answered. "And I may be willing to take a chance on this... whatever this may be."

Zoro's heart filled with a childlike glee. He smiled. "Damn straight, woman."

* * *

"What are you smiling about, kenshi-san?"

Robin's voice brought Zoro out of his nostalgic state. He noticed that he'd been staring at her and he blinked rapidly, answering, "Ehh... nothing."

"It's my birthday, Zoro." Robin hinted. For dramatic effect, she nibbled on her cupcake.

"Yeah, yeah... I was just thinking about the big snowstorm." Zoro replied. He blushed. "And us."

With a hum of recognition, Robin added, "Ah, yes. The day it all started."

"I still have it, you know." Zoro informed vaguely. He specified, "The fortune."

Robin's eyes sparkled with curiosity. "You're lying."

The swordsman shook his head briefly. He retrieved one of his four katanas, unsheathing the blade and setting it aside. He turned the sheath itself upside down, shaking it until a single, small slip of paper, slightly worn and ripped, tumbled out onto the sheets.

Robin snatched it up without a moment's hesitation. She read it once in her head, and then a smile softened her features. "This is it, huh?"

"Yeah, it is." Zoro confirmed. "I always keep it with me. Whenever you're away, I just take a look at it and I feel a little less lonely. Or whatever. Something like that."

Robin interrupted Zoro's rambling with a kiss. As she stroked one of his cheeks with her fingers, pulling back to look at him, she whispered, "Thank you."

"For what?" Zoro asked softly.

Robin shrugged gently and shook her head. "Just... thank you, Zoro."

With one of his eyebrows arched, Zoro remarked, "You're weird, woman. Now, get some sleep, Grandma."

"Not with all this sugar in me. I'm wide awake," Robin sighed. She perked up slightly. "I think I'll read."

"Yeah, yeah. Make sure you take your vitamins in the morning, Grammy." Zoro joked, joining her under the covers.

"I'm not _that_ old." Robin pouted.

"You don't look a day over twenty-five."

"Thank you."

Zoro grunted in acknowledgment and rested his head on the pillow nearest him. Before he drifted off to sleep, he mumbled, "Oi, Robin."

"Yes, Zoro?"

"Thanks."

* * *

**Readers, for the fact that there was no update last week, gomen nasai. I had a pretty shitty night last Friday and a pretty shitty week, both personally and inspiration-wise. I couldn't figure anything out for the prompt "sound". Usually, if I can't figure anything out for one of the prompts, I just replace it with something else, but I really want to do "sound". Therefore, readers, I must inquire: what would you like to read here pertaining to the word "sound"? I would love to hear what you think. :')**

**- Angela**


	12. careful

**One Piece is the property of Eiichiro Oda. Author's notes are at the bottom.**

* * *

Both Zoro and Robin were never too comfortable within themselves.

This was because both of them, perhaps Robin more than Zoro, were deeply familiar with the concept of leaving. People left when they chose to, or through an act of nature, and the impact that their departure had on the people who loved them was unfathomable, unimaginable. Both Zoro and Robin understood the fact that people always left, and it was for this reason that they had a metaphorical death grip on each other. Though leaving was inevitable, they would not let go of one another for as long as they could control it.

Robin silently pondered this idea as she relaxed in the bath with Zoro. He had installed jets inside of it, jokingly proposing that it would make a simple action like taking a bath more "fun", as well as offering that they test that theory together. Therefore, Robin was seated between Zoro's legs there, enjoying the lavender scented bubble soap and the gentle vibrations surrounding her. Zoro took up the task of washing her hair with a surprisingly delicate touch and she tingled at this. Something interested her, if not turned her on, about a strong man who could be gentle at times...

She exhaled. Her mind was wandering again, straying from the task at hand. She needed to let him know.

"You can wash it out now," Robin hinted, arching an eyebrow in her want to open her eyes again. The shampoo tickled her forehead and the bridge of her pointed nose as its froth slid down her face. "With the hose thing."

Zoro nodded. As he rinsed out the mass of her waist-length black hair, he sniffed quietly and pursed his lips. "Is that vanilla?"

"And honey."

"Well, I like it." Zoro mumbled, clearing Robin's hair away from her neck and resting his chin on her shoulder. He moved to kiss her neck and mumbled, "I love you."

"I'm going away, Zoro."

Robin rushed reply didn't give her enough time to really soak in what Zoro had said before. Therefore, she was just the tiniest bit taken aback when Zoro hissed, "What?"

"Not _that_ kind of going away," Robin swiftly corrected as she turned her head to peer at her boyfriend. "Only for a week. I'll be in Alabasta on an archaeology expedition for the museum. We leave on Sunday."

"As in tomorrow?" Zoro inquired. "What the fuck? You couldn't tell me this earlier?"

"It never really came up. I was concerned about other things, anyway..." Robin pursed her lips. "Like the possibility of me getting my old tan back."

"Are you saying you _forgot_ to tell me about this? I need to know these things, Robin!"

Robin turned around and rolled her eyes. "Here we go again."

"And just what do you mean by that, _Robin_?"

"I don't have to ask your _permission_ to do my _job, _Zoro. Let's just leave it at that, alright?"

"Um, excuse the fuck out of me, princess, but I would like to know if my _girlfriend_ is going to be away for a week. Why is it that you always pick fights over honest questions?"

Robin exhaled sharply and rose out of he bathtub, approaching the towel rack. "You have no idea what you're talking about. If anything, _you're_ the one picking a fight right now."

"Sure. Make _me_ look like the instigator." Zoro countered, leaning on the edge of the bathtub. "Blame everybody but yourself."

"You know I don't think like that." Robin pointed out, glaring at Zoro harshly as she wrapped herself in an indigo towel.

"So, what the fuck's going on, then? Why are you being such a bitch?"

"Don't call me a bitch."

"It gets your attention. Hey, _bitch_, what's your problem?"

Robin turned to the mirror. She gripped the counter, breathing deeply as her nails scratched the stone. She spied Zoro and his suddenly remorseful expression through the glass, shaking her head slowly. She shrugged. "I was wrong. I guess you don't know me at all, you disrespectful prick."

Zoro ran a hand through his hair. "Listen... Robin-chan-"

The female snarled, "Don't give me that 'Robin-chan' bullshit. I have to pack."

Ignoring Zoro's calls for her to come back, Robin fumed while retreating to their bedroom and slamming the door. Immediately, she seated herself on the bed and heaved one of the deepest - consequently, one of the most relaxing - sighs she ever had. How a fight could stem from such a thing as her letting him know about her trip was beyond her. And, perhaps, Robin truly _had_ begun the fight; she blamed it on her lingering anxiety about finally being able to get away. From home, from Zoro's friends... from Zoro.

Robin's eyes snapped down to the carpeted floor when Zoro stepped into the room in a pair of boxer shorts. He leaned against the door and folded his arms, letting the silence linger for a moment before speaking. He started, "You're real stubborn, woman."

"Wonderful observation."

"_Listen_, woman." Zoro said quietly. He ran his fingers through his cropped, green tresses once more and closed his unsealed eye, giving the illusion that he was in deep thought. "We really have to talk about this."

The archaeologist simply rolled her shoulders back and stood, rummaging through her drawers and producing some undergarments. She pulled them on and mumbled, "What's the point, anyway?"

Zoro walked over to Robin, moving to trace his fingers over her frame. She let him, ignoring the metaphorical sting; he often did so in his rarer moments of emotional honesty. "Something's fucked up between us, babe."

"I suppose," was Robin's flippant reply. Normally, she'd be the one to point out any discomfort between the two of them, but talking was the last thing she wanted to do at that moment.

Zoro must have picked up on this, faltering slowly. Robin's shallow breaths scraped through the silence as she continued to avoid his penetrating gaze. Still, he persisted: "We can't just wait for it to go away. Whatever 'it' may be."

"I don't want to talk right now." Robin whispered with a downcast glance. Anger built up inside her chest; Zoro's persistence was usually charming, but her lingering annoyance was changing the way she saw it.

Zoro was on the same page. He was annoyed that he wasn't getting through to her - _without_ referring to her as a bitch this time around - but that wasn't to say that he ever really did. Robin was clearly adamant in not wanting to deal with the situation, and that annoyed Zoro more than anything. He stated, "So, it's okay for you to mope and whine, but, the moment you're mad about something, you nag the living hell of me and pick at everything I do. I'm sick of these double standards, Robin!"

"Please, Zoro, just fuck off!" Robin screamed.

"You know what?" Zoro hissed. "When you go to Alabasta? Stay there."

"Go to hell."

"I'll see you there."

Their seemingly petty argument was much more than that. The two hadn't spoken to one another after the fact, and Robin didn't bother to spare a passing glance at Zoro when she left the next morning. That didn't stop Robin from thinking about him; she wished to know if he was sorry, as he usually was the first to get over him (or her) self and apologize. But something was different, then. Truer words had never left the lips of the swordsman, and there _was _something between them that needed fixing, but Robin knew that she was too proud to admit that. She was too proud to admit that her headstrong qualities could quite possibly be the end of them. She was too proud to admit that she was wrong, and he was right.

A thoroughly pensive Robin rested alone, quiet, in her hotel room on that Sunday night. That night, the archaeologists took time to settle in their elegant hotel by the name of Rain Dinners. A golden palace, it was, located in sandy, scenic, stranded Alabasta. Rain Dinners took the shape of a grand pyramid and the cherry on top, of sorts, was a crocodile with a banana on top of its head; Robin learned from a brochure that this fabulous creature was called a bananawani. She giggled when she realized how well it rolled off the tongue.

She had done very well, in terms of not thinking about her swordsman back at home. She had several pamphlets, of which she started a collection, laid out on the bed, planning her voyages within her voyage with the East Blue eleven o'clock news playing on the adequately-sized television. A supposed harmful ingredient hidden within those peppermint Girl Scout cookies that Zoro and Robin often bonded over and enjoyed together was the subject of the segment, currently, so Robin didn't pay much mind after the serious side effects were named. She continued to happily streak the pages and words of a museum brochure with a purple highlighter, awaiting Nami's weather segment.

_"This just in - citizens of Shimotsuki City are on alert today after an explosion, followed by an electrical fire occurred at a construction site on 4th and Conomi-"_

Robin's head snapped up from her brochure. 4th and Conomi, construction... All signs pointed to him.

"Zoro..." Robin scrambled for the remote and increased the volume, dumbfounded and with her heart slamming into her chest at a painful rate.

_"-two dead and seven severely wounded and moved to hospital. In sports today, the Dawn Island Coyotes took home first place..."_

"What? No... that can't be it!" Robin found herself blinking away tears, flipping rapidly through several news channels. Tears spilled onto her hands and forearms as she screamed, "What about Zoro?!"

Abandoning her frantic ways, Robin reached for the phone. They wouldn't make Zoro stay at a potentially dangerous construction site; they must have sent him home. Home. Of course. But the phone rang eight times before the answering machine sounded with Robin chewing on her bottom lip and slowly losing hope. She grasped the phone with both hands, theorizing that, perhaps, if he should hear her voice, he would arise from his after-work nap and let her know that, yes, he was okay.

"Zoro?" Robin tried with shaking hands and a voice barely above a whisper. "I heard about the accident. The explosion. If you're okay... please, just... just pick up the phone. Please, Zoro? Zoro, I know you're there! Get the fuck over yourself and pick up the phone, you goddamn prick! Don't fucking scare me like this! Don't you dare..."

She soon realized that her search, her quest for more knowledge on this possibly fatal situation, would amount to nothing. This feeling of hopelessness, of despair, of pure, unadulterated guilt hit her like a ton of bricks like a punch in the face and she sobbed. Like a child, Robin curled up on the bed and cried. She possibly could have foretold Zoro's death when she snarled at him to go to hell just twenty-four hours ago. And, oh, did he seem angelic to her now. And, yet, she had never really explored the thought of losing Zoro, but imagining it now was more terrifying than any past nightmare she could have thought of.

Her fists were entangled in her hair, her sobs wracking her entire frame. She often reminded herself not to make any decisions when she was upset. While this was true, she decided that her first order of business the next morning would be to go back to Shimotsuki City.

* * *

With the putrid smell of death, blood and medicine packing a powerful punch to and overwhelming Robin's senses, she stormed through the hospital in search of room three hundred twenty-three. She managed to sneak out of Rain Dinners undetected, and she would explain everything to whoever was in charge when the time was right. Her biggest concern was Zoro... and Zoro's life.

Robin hadn't slept a wink all that night. A terrifying image of Zoro on his deathbed was burned into her mind: his skin singed and morphed, making that scowl of his truly permanent; clawing at unsanitary hospital bed sheets as death's icy grip closed around his throat, his heart; uttering a single gasp... and that was that. He would die hating Robin, and she refused to have such a thing happen. Robin needed to set the record straight before such a horrible vision came to pass.

Rather rudely, Robin burst into the room and was met with a few familiar faces - just not the one she was focused on. Sure, it was nice to see Nami, Usopp and, most of the three, a non-smoking Sanji, present and circling Zoro and chatting quietly, but couldn't they just make room for his lover?

Usopp must have noticed this entry by the sound of her heeled boots clacking against the tiles. "Hey, Robin! I thought you were away?"

"Robin~! My love~!" Sanji's enthusiastic cry followed as he took both of her hand in both of his. "I knew you would come back for me! It was only a matter of time before you realized that this algae-headed barbarian-"

"Sanji, behave!" Nami whispered harshly.

"Hey, Robin-chan's here?" A hoarse voice inquired. "You're shitting me. Lemme see her."

The three visitors cleared the path for Robin as she yanked her hand free from Sanji's gentle grip. A swell of raw emotion filled Robin at the sight of her smiling, mostly unscathed boyfriend. She was happy, bordering on thrilled to see that, yes, he was okay. Even then, her anger reared its ugly head at that exact moment.

"I leave you alone for a day, and you nearly get yourself killed?" She hissed.

Zoro chuckled. "I knew this would happen. Listen, babe-"

"Just _look_ at yourself!" Robin motioned to his bandaged arms and torso. "Do you think this is some sort of joke?! Who do you think you are?!"

"Robin-"

"You scared me half to death, you idiot!" Robin exhaled sharply with a tight throat and watery eyes. She dabbed at her eyes with her knit sweater sleeve and whispered, "I thought you were dead."

Slowly, but, surely, Zoro took Robin's free hand and guided her into a nearby chair. Sitting up, he gave a discreet nod to Nami, who ushered Usopp and a frowning Sanji out of the room. When the two were alone, Zoro asked, "You know what I was doing when the explosion happened?"

Robin gave a sheepish shake of her head.

"We just installed a new pay phone that day. I was on my lunch break and I thought I should walk around, see how things were going. I see the pay phone, and the first thing I thought was... 'Is Robin still mad at me? Are we still fighting?' I thought there was only one way to find out. I go up to the phone, only to find out that I don't have enough change. I go back to get some, and..."

"The explosion happened." The female concluded.

"They're dragging me here on one of those wheeled bed thingies-"

"Gurneys."

"Whatever. They're dragging me here and, the whole time, I'm telling them that _I need to call my girlfriend_. The bastards ended up sedating me." Zoro squeezed Robin's hand and looked her in the eyes. "I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. I'm a shit boyfriend, and you deserve better, but there's no way in hell I'm letting you run off with someone else."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Robin smiled. "And I'm sorry, too. I couldn't live with the idea of you passing away hating me."

"No matter how hard I try, I could never hate you. Believe me." Zoro admitted. "I am weirdly attached to you, and I'm not ashamed to say so."

Robin kissed him without hesitation in sudden realization of how "weirdly attached" she was to him, as well. Zoro cupped her cheek with his hand, gladly kissing back. When they separated, Zoro smirked and asked, "Does this mean we're going to make hot, sweaty, passionate love when I come home?"

"No," Robin snapped. "I'm still mad at you for calling me a bitch."

"I thought I apologized for that, like, two seconds ago!" Zoro defended. He pouted. "Fine, then. I'm mad at you for calling me a prick."

"That's because you_ are_ a prick. It's better to hear it from me than from someone else." Robin giggled.

Zoro kissed Robin's forehead. "The shit-cook beat you to it."

* * *

**I call this the Saturday edition of Treinta. I think the updates are definitely going to slow down, perhaps down to every other week. I'll make up for the lateness of this chapter with another update very soon; I've got most of it done already. See you all next chapter, faithful readers!**

**- Angela**


	13. dream

**One Piece is the property of Eiichiro Oda. Author's notes are at the bottom.**

* * *

"Nami and I have an announcement to make."

It was the early days of spring and an unexpected dinner party was in motion at Usopp and Nami's quaint, spacious home. Still determined to win a married woman's love, Sanji prepared a four-course meal for the occasion and supervised Nami's every bite, while Usopp watched nervously from the metaphorical sidelines - or, his seat next to her at the table. The news of Nami's affair was still fairly new, leading everyone to wonder just what this announcement could possibly be.

"I hope it's not a divorce," Vivi quietly fretted to Robin over her slice of blueberry pie. "It was such a lovely wedding."

Robin took a sip of wine and shook her head. "Mm-mm. Nami isn't the type to spend hundreds of dollars on something to have it all go to waste, dear."

"Tch," Zoro interjected. "We didn't think she was the type to sleep around, either, and look what happened."

Robin swiftly kicked Zoro under the table. "Hush."

All attention was on the couple standing at the head of the table. Usopp had an arm wrapped securely around Nami's waist under which the brown-eyed female rested stiffly. She did a good enough job to mask it, for the most part, but anyone could sense the air of discomfort between the two. Usopp began, "There have been a lot of discussions between Nami and myself about having a baby. We've been married for almost three years, and we figured that it was time for us to extend our family."

"And we're very happy to announce..." Nami shot a smile at Usopp, who reflected it in an instant as they revealed together: "We're pregnant."

"But is it _his_?" Zoro proposed with a head nod towards Usopp, promptly earning him another kick from Robin.

"We'll deal with that later, you wretched barbarian," Nami hissed. She softened as she addressed the rest of the guests at the table. "We're hoping for a boy, but we're going to let it be a surprise."

"Have you thought of any names?" Vivi's eyes sparkled.

"Not so fast, Vivi," Usopp chuckled as if to further ease the tension. "We'll settle that in due time."

While the baby talk ensued, Robin leaned over to Zoro and asked, "Are you familiar with your conscience? Or your filter?"

"They seemed nice at first, but we're not too close now." Zoro smirked.

Robin sighed and rested her head on Zoro's shoulder. She studied Usopp's blank stare and mused, "He looks so sad."

"Well, can you blame him?" Zoro ran his fingers through Robin's hair. "I guess it must be hard to be excited for a kid that might not be yours."

"It must be." Robin frowned, studying the thousandth fake smile that Usopp plastered on his face.

* * *

Robin smiled over her cup of coffee at the scene. Nami and Vivi fussed over the baby, more protecting the child from Luffy than swooning at its cuteness. The archaeologist preferred to show her appreciation internally, or muse lightly to Zoro, who was seated beside her on the couch. She snuggled up to the swordsman and sighed, "Aren't babies fascinating?"

Zoro crinkled his nose. "They're alright, I guess... that poor kid's going to know all about lying and stealing before he learns how to walk."

"He's just so delicate," Robin interrupted, ignoring Zoro's comment. "Oftentimes, I wonder what it would be like to have a child of my own."

"Really?"

The female looked up at Zoro, whose features softened at this confession. Transferring her mug to her right hand, she reached up and traced Zoro's features as she listed, "She'll have your nose and eyes, I think. Hopefully, she'll have my hair. If we have a boy, then I can forgive it."

"Hey, now, what's wrong with green hair?" Zoro joked with a smile.

"We don't want to torture the poor girl, Zoro." Robin replied. She moved closer, allowing Zoro to wrap an arm around her shoulders. "I know I sound crazy, but... the idea of having a real, tangible family to call my own just sounds so good to me."

Her words sunk into Zoro's mind slowly, letting him consider this. He painted a family portrait in his mind: a small girl, with raven hair and deep brown eyes gathered into Robin's lap as her mother read her a bedtime story with Zoro watching from the door frame. It was then that Zoro knew exactly where his girlfriend was coming from. The thought of this - his own little baby girl, cradled in his arms, everything fading away for a while - warmed his heart and brought on this whole other dimension to his life with Robin. While he didn't know for sure what parenthood was like just yet, he could experience just a fraction, a fragment of it now.

He looked to Nami. "Can... c-can I hold him? Scott?"

One could have heard a pin drop in the sudden silence that swept over the room. Wide, inquisitive eyes and a few gaping mouths here and there were thrown in Zoro's direction.

"_You_ want to hold my child?" Nami processed slowly.

"I won't hurt him. I swear. Just... show me how." Zoro urged.

Robin watched the scene unfold with immediate understanding and a smile. She looked at Nami and implored softly, "Just trust him, Nami-san."

The new mother studied Robin's encouraging expression and twisted her lips. She stroked her sleeping son's face gently before slowly transferring the boy into Robin's grasp. Noticing the anxious, if not nervous way that Zoro eyed the newborn as Robin made to give him to Zoro, Nami exhaled and instructed, "Make sure you support his head. And, oh, be gentle. Please be gentle."

Zoro nodded absently and, soon after, the baby was cradled within his muscular arms. His open palm was the resting place for the back of Scott's head of curly, black hair, and his forearms provided more than enough room for the swaddled baby's body to rest safely. Zoro was starting to take in the wonder of it all. He breathed, "He's so small..."

"You were that small once, too." Robin reminded him. She was nudging Scott's open hand with her index finger. Zoro marvelled at how Scott instantly wrapped his miniscule hand around Robin's finger. He watched as Robin's usually piercing eyes softened. She looked content, touched. It really hit Zoro, then; seeing Robin's eyes fill with such inexplicable wonder only slightly foretold her emotions when faced with her own future child. Seeing this usually stoic, nearly emotionless woman in such awe of something so delicate, so new, took his breath away.

The image stayed with Zoro long after the winter gathering. That same mental image of the nameless girl in Robin's lap never left Zoro's mind, but he never brought it up to Robin again after that. Instead, he slipped a note to himself inside Kitetsu's sheath.

_Blue diamond._

* * *

**Definitely one of my fluffier chapters. :')**


	14. Special Edition Chapter: WWI

**One Piece is the property of Eiichiro Oda. Author's notes are at the bottom.**

* * *

_While I appreciate his dedication to his new country, I secretly hope that he is disallowed from joining the army because of his race. Then again, they would not dare reject a man from an allying country, would they?_

Roronoa Robin smiles in spite of her worry and fear, pausing her journal entry.

_They let us marry because of this. My mother disapproved of my decision, as a woman born into a Russian family, to marry a Japanese man. I lost my father in the war against the Japanese… should I lose Zoro to the Germans, I shall find myself riddled with resentment. We came to Canada to seek refuge when we married in 1906. Why must it be ripped away so promptly by this Great War?_

The door to their Halifax home creaks open, the woman's wrenching heart ceasing its pounding as her husband steps into the single room. His dark eyes scan the room excitedly, a smile spreading across his thin lips at the sight of Robin. She rises and smooths the slight wrinkles out of her dress.

"We get shipped to Valcartier in a month." The newly registered soldier confirms.

"Bastard!" Robin screams. Zoro barely has time to raise his hands in defense before Robin strikes him. Immediately, she falls into his arms and begins to sob. "You bastard…"

"Please understand, Robin," Zoro pleads in accented English. Robin makes no effort to right herself when he holds her. "This is my chance to prove myself as a true Canadian. I need to defend my new home - _our_ new home, Robin-chan."

"What about starting a family? Everything has gone to waste, and that's on you!" Robin's closed fists pound against Zoro's chest. "Bastard!"

"Stop it." Zoro warns firmly and, as if it were magic, Robin ceases her frenzy. He kisses her and holds her as she sobs. "I'll make our children proud. I promise you, Robin-chan."

"Please, come home," the woman sobs, and she says nothing else for the remainder of the night. She only lets Zoro hold her as she worries and awaits the day he leaves her.

The evening before Zoro's departure, Robin lets him take her for what could be the last time. It is passionate, and almost humiliating in its context; they are grasping for each other in knowledge of what could happen to Zoro on the front lines, in the trenches. He may never come home, or he may return with unrecognizable features. It is for these reasons, and reasons beyond her own comprehension, that she takes Zoro for what he is before he is changed by the Great War.

Robin lost her life in the explosion in December of 1917. Her son, Nathaniel, is orphaned until Zoro's return. They cry together when they think about the mother, the wife they now must go without. Zoro still managed to fulfill his promise of return, and he prays that Robin can see this from her place in the skies.

* * *

**This is a bonus drabble because, in Canada today, it's Remembrance Day. Today is especially emotional for me, having studied WWI and hearing about such awful conditions that soldiers had to face in the trenches and the attacks they suffered. It was a tremendous, yet, such a rewarding sacrifice. Thank you to the soldiers then, and the military today, for protecting our country.**

**On a lighter note, happy birthday to my very first anime guy obsession, Roronoa Zoro. :')**

**P.S. My updates are going to be a lot shorter from now on. I've realized that I'm advertising my chapters as drabbles; drabbles don't necessarily have to be thousands upon thousands of words long. I guess I've been a bit disillusioned. So, yes, the chapters will be shorter unless completely necessary. See you all on Friday! :')**

**- Angela**


	15. plan

**One Piece is the property of Eiichiro Oda. Author's notes are at the bottom.**

* * *

_"Shimotsuki Museum of Natural History. How may I help you?"_

"Mmm... ohh, Robin..."

_"Get off the phone, Zoro. I'm working."_

"What are you wearing, baby-chan?"

_"Stop it, Zoro."_

"I wanna fuck you."

_"I hope you choke on your vomit."_

"That was strangely hot. Tell me you wanna snap my neck."

_"Shut up."_

"Love you, too."

_"I'll be on break soon. Do you need anything?"_

"Besides your sweet, sexy body? Probably some soup. I feel like shit."

_"I'll come home and baby you for a little bit, then."_

"Thanks, baby."

_"Oh, and Zoro?"_

"Yeah?"

_"There's no way in hell that I'm going to risk getting into bed with someone who is either vomiting or pooping every five minutes. Sorry."_

"Whatever. Bye."

_"See you soon."_

Zoro smiled slightly as he hung up the phone, resuming his previous action - staring at the cream coloured, velvet box in his hands. He knew he was going to wear out the hinges if he kept opening the box to look at the ring, but he was much too restless, and too fragile for rigorous movement. Robin started to prove herself to be the perfect wife as soon as Zoro began to find every reason to postpone his proposal, and that infuriated the swordsman beyond belief. As their relationship grew to be less of a laborious task and more of an emotional investment that Zoro was truly enjoying, he was beginning to see a totally different side of his girlfriend. She was getting to be more comfortable around him, thus resulting in her being strangely domestic, which only made her so much more appealing to Zoro.

"Fuck." Zoro spat, shoving the ring back into the pocket of his sweatpants. He slumped in his seat on the bed. Goddamn, he loved her. It was unfair to keep her waiting. That was if she actually wanted to marry him. She was such great wife material, but Zoro was much too hesitant to simply ask for her hand in marriage. He never beat around the bush like this; why should he start now?

Ignoring this confusion, Zoro instead focused on his current immobilization. Food poisoning, besides his routine-based life, was the very reason why Zoro stuck to his strict diet of onigiri and alcohol, and something plain every once in a while. This is why he was cursing Johnny and Yosaku for taking him out to a questionable takoyaki place. There was a crazy-haired octopus on the sign, for Christ's sake. The two oafs who put Zoro in this situation hadn't even stopped by to apologize yet, and Zoro wasn't half-bad at holding grudges.

Just about half an hour after the end of Zoro's phone conversation with her, Robin came home bearing a styrofoam container of tomato soup and a sympathetic smile. "How are you?"

"Now that you're here?" Zoro beamed. "Couldn't be better."

"Oh, cut it out," Robin blushed as she sat with her legs curled up beside the bedridden man. She slapped his hand away when he reached out to caress the small amount of skin that had appeared when she pulled up her skirt to seat herself. "Pervert. Do you want your soup?"

"I guess," Zoro murmured, dejected. "How's work?"

Robin produced a spoon and a few napkins from her handbag, setting them down on her lap as she carefully peeled the lid off of the container. "There's a group of middle school children on a field trip today... one of whom grabbed my ass. It took a lot of restraint not to break his back, I must say, but his actions did not go unpunished."

"You injured a twelve-year-old?" Zoro asked with clear disbelief. "Who are you and what have you done with Little Miss Beacon of Social Justice?"

"I don't condone sexual harassment, mind you. And all I did was trip him," Robin defended. She held out a spoonful of the soup to Zoro's lips. "Open up."

"I can feed myself." The swordsman parted his lips in spite of himself and his pride.

"Good boy." Robin whispered as she eased the spoon into his mouth.

She continued to feed Zoro until just about half of the container was left. Zoro smiled between every single spoonful; if he had it his way, every day would be just like this. Surely, he could have it, and he realized this when he shifted on the bed, and so did the box inside his pocket. His heart was already pounding at the very idea of asking her, right then and there, to spend the rest of her life with him as her husband. The sudden, painful clenching deep in Zoro's chest made him gasp, alarming Robin.

"Zoro? Is everything alright?"

Oh, he was so nauseous. "Yeah... Robin-chan, I have to ask you something."

"Anything." Robin blinked, her eyes scanning Zoro's blank expression.

The male wrung his hands. It wasn't the most romantic of settings, but Robin wasn't the most romantic of people. He hadn't exactly dreamt of asking a girl to marry him when his barf-filled bucket was directly to his right and said girl was spoon-feeding him like a child. He chewed on his bottom lip briefly. "If I'm feeling better tonight... do you wanna go out for dinner? Just you and me."

Robin twisted her lips. "Well, I don't know. Are you sure you're going to feel okay by tonight?"

"Yeah."

"What's the occasion?" Robin smirked. "Are you trying to butter me up so that I'll be willing to have sex with you? You do that an awful lot."

Zoro relaxed, grateful for the subject change. "Quite possibly."

"It's a date, then." Robin winked and stood, gathering her belongings. "I'm due back at work. I'll see you soon, sweetheart."

"Just a little while longer."

"Zoro."

"Fine, fine..." Zoro grumbled. As Robin circled the bed, Zoro caught her hand and planted a kiss on her lips.

"Gross," Robin complained.

"Dress nice tonight, okay?"

* * *

Somehow, word got out that Zoro was planning to propose to Robin that evening. Upon seeing Nami casually sitting at a table with her husband and noticing how her eyes darted around the room suspiciously when he saw her there, he figured that Robin must have said something. He grew increasingly suspicious when he scanned the crowd from his seat at the table and noticed that the entire gang, Johnny and Yosaku included, was scattered across the seating area. That was when he started to panic; had she found the ring? It would ruin the surprise, and Zoro couldn't have that. He was looking forward to seeing Robin's eyes light up when he presented her with the blue diamond ring he'd worked so tirelessly to buy.

Zoro had barely eaten. Not only was the taste of bile still lingering in his mouth, but he could barely breathe every time he spared a glance at Robin. All he could think was how humiliating, how upsetting it would be if she said no. He couldn't live with himself if he built up their relationship for five years, just to have her basically point out that they just weren't right for each other. Simply the thought of this possibility made him cringe.

"Are you feeling sick again, Zoro?"

"Huh?" Zoro blinked out of his fretful stupor to notice that Robin had completely finished the dessert that they were meant to share. She was giving him a concerned, thoughtful stare. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine."

Robin shook her head. "I don't know about that. You haven't eaten much tonight. Is something troubling you?"

Now or never. Zoro sighed. "Ah, fuck it... Robin, I have to ask you something."

"Your inquisitiveness is running on overdrive today, isn't it?" The female smiled. "What's on your mind?"

Zoro wasn't sure if his nausea and dizziness was really coming back, or if he just wanted an excuse to put the proposal off yet again. He thought of all the other things he could ask - why she sucked up their dessert like an animal, if she did something to her hair before they went out, how she felt about getting a guinea pig and naming it Kokogaku - before he finally began to speak. "I've been wanting to say this to you... to ask you this since forever. Maybe not forever, no, but for a really, _really_ long time. I love you. A lot. I know that we're not the most... what's the word..."

"Harmonious?" Robin offered, a twinkle in her eye.

"The most harmonious - thanks - couple out there, but we could be. We've made it this far and we haven't murdered each other yet, so, I was just wondering..." Zoro produced the ring from his pocket and, setting his ego aside, knelt down beside the table in front of Robin. He focused on those crystal clear blue eyes, filling with tears now, as he asked: "Will you marry me?"

The five-second silence was enough for Zoro's gaze to avert to the ground and for him to know for sure that, yes, he was going to throw up. He, Roronoa Zoro, was going to barf. On Robin's shoes, on the newly polished floor, on the ring - he was going to fucking vomit and there was no doubt about it. He was nervous and nauseous and he felt utterly stupid and foolish until he looked back up at Robin.

She had never looked so happy.

There were tears building up in her eyes. She had her hands covering her wide, thrilled smile. There was an adorable, genuine blush in her cheeks. Robin gasped, "Do you even have to ask?"

"Is that a yes?" Zoro inquired impatiently.

In an odd mix of laughter and sobbing, Robin confessed, "I was totally kidding about the blue diamond!"

"Damnit, woman-"

Robin grabbed Zoro's collar, pulling him up until his lips met hers. She kissed him over and over, nodding frantically. She sobbed, "Yes, Zoro."

The rest was a surreal blur of applause, crying, and embracing. Zoro could only remember sliding the coveted blue diamond ring onto Robin's left hand, kissing her and holding her. It was a whole new beginning for the two of them, and Zoro was glad not to have wasted another second in doubt or fear of their future.

She was soon to be his.

* * *

***applause* there you have it. Their engagement, finally. ^_^**

**- Angela**


	16. interrupt

**One Piece is the property of Eiichiro Oda. Author's notes are at the bottom.**

* * *

_The rest was a surreal blur of applause, crying, and embracing. Zoro could only remember sliding the coveted blue diamond ring onto Robin's left hand, kissing her and holding her. It was a whole new beginning for the two of them, and Zoro was glad not to have wasted another second in doubt or fear of their future._

_She was soon to be his._

They were tangled in a mess of naked skin, and smooth, deep red sheets soon after they returned home from their rather exciting night out. It proved to be a rather exciting night in, as well, as soon as they tumbled into their bedroom and their lips touched.

"I mean... _damn_, woman," Zoro sighed. "I knew you were a screamer, but..."

Robin giggled. "I suppose I should be on top more often."

"That's likely." Zoro snorted. He pulled Robin in closer, kissing her forehead as he did so. "I'm really happy, you know. I'm just really _in love_right now, as stupid as it sounds."

"I'm really happy to be the one you're in love with. You spoil me, you know; I can't believe you actually found me one of these..." Robin marvelled at the diamond ring on her finger.

Zoro shrugged. "Cost an arm and a leg to find one that matched your eyes, but it was worth it."

"It really is. Especially because I was _joking_when I said I wanted a blue diamond." Robin cackled. "I thought you were on board, but, you obviously weren't... haha!"

"Don't rub it in!" Zoro's cheeks reddened as Robin continued to laugh. "I'll gladly get you a new one if it's such a joke to you!"

"No, no," Robin sighed, giggling after her fit of laughter. She rubbed Zoro's chest with an open palm, smiling slightly. "I really appreciate the fact that you would go that extra mile to make me happy. I love you, Zoro."

"Yeah, yeah. Just don't expect that every day." Zoro smirked, pressing his lips to Robin's briefly. Robin's warmth felt strangely more welcome that night, like he never wanted to leave... "You know, I think I'm coming down with something."

"Oh, no, again?" Robin fretted. She pressed a hand to his forehead and stroked his cheeks. "Do you feel nauseous?"

"I don't know. I think I'll... call in sick tomorrow." Zoro suggested smugly. "Might be contagious, you know."

The female caught on quickly. With a sly grin, she agreed, "Now that you mention it, I think I might be a little bit under the weather, as well. The only solution is to stay at home, I suppose."

"And have shittons of sex?"

"You're taking it a bit too far."

* * *

Zoro drummed his fingertips on the table, more excited than impatient, as he watched Robin busily prepare their breakfast the following morning. The glorious aroma of bacon made him rise from his slumber - which could have gone on forever, as far as he was concerned. At the same time, however, there was no way in hell that he was going to miss out on spending an entire day with his brand new fiancée.

Zoro smirked as he rose from his chair, sauntering over to his soon-to-be wife as she stood at the kitchen counter. She appeared to be whisking some pancake mix; the swordsman could tell by the gentle, yet rapid left to right movements of that sinful behind of hers. Licking his lips, Zoro reached out to secure his muscular arms around her waist.

"What's for breakfast?" The male inquired as innocently as he could while his hands snaked down to her hips.

"Nothing, if you don't get your hands off me." Robin countered, resting her whisk against the rim of the bowl. She pivoted in her place, making direct, smug eye contact with Zoro, sliding her fingertips along the back of his neck and moving down to his chest. Her lips just barely brushed his as she rasped, "I may not be able to resist you."

Both pairs of eyes - rather, Robin's two and Zoro's one - dropped to the sudden, rather obnoxious tent in Zoro's forest green pyjama pants. Though there was a strong, bright red blush in his cheeks at Robin's amused expression, Zoro shamelessly flirted back. "I think breakfast will be a little more rewarding if we work up more of an appetite first."

"Any suggestions?" Robin smirked.

"Like you don't know, woman." Zoro chuckled. He swiped the tip of his tongue across Robin's bottom lip, biting down on it and giving her lip a small stretch, smirking all the while. "Like you don't know."

She returned the favour, nipping at his own lips once or twice before he gave in and kissed her. The kiss deepened in record time, their tongues twisting around and pushing against each other in a messy fashion. Using the counter for support, Robin wrapped her legs around Zoro's waist, his erection pressing against her. This drove Zoro absolutely crazy on the inside; he lifted her up and onto the table at which he was previously resting to seat her on the edge. He broke apart from her lips for air, staring at her as she panted.

Robin giggled. "Good thing the stove isn't on yet."

"Aren't you familiar with the concept of a quickie, woman?" Zoro chided. He gave her a quick peck and continued, "Let's get this over with. I'm starving."

"Shall I get the body chocolate, then?" Robin offered with a raise of her eyebrows.

"Too damn far. Stop trying to compromise with me." Zoro huffed, resuming his actions. He rammed his tongue into her mouth and his hands found a home beneath her purple sweatshirt, over her bra. His lips moved down to her neck, biting and licking as his hands manoeuvred along Robin's torso. She removed his white wifebeater, discarding it just as soon as Zoro unhooked her bra.

"Zoro..." She gasped.

"Robin..."

"_Ohayo_!"

The lovers jumped at the sudden noise. Nami and Vivi sauntered loudly into the kitchen, appearing to have entered through the backyard. Vivi stopped in her tracks, eyes wide, just as soon as Nami pushed her sunglasses up onto her forehead.

The married woman whistled, wiggling her eyebrows. "Are we interrupting something?"

"Yes, you goddamned hag," Zoro spat, glaring at the two visitors as Robin blushed and adjusted herself and her clothing quickly. "Fuck off."

"I'm not here for you, you dirty bastard." Nami hissed. She smiled at Robin, holding her arms out for a hug. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you, Nami." Robin sighed, accepting the embrace. "What brings you two here?"

"We're kidnapping you!" Vivi giggled.

"Get dressed," Nami instructed. "We're going shopping. Ah! Let's look for your dress!"

"Oh, but..." Robin looked back at Zoro as he grumbled. "Zoro and I were hoping to-"

"We'll go out for breakfast. We'll split the bill!" Nami offered with a loud laugh. "Come, now, let's find you something to wear."

Zoro caught Robin's hand from behind the table before she could quit the room. He hissed, "What am I supposed to do about _this_?"

His eye flicked downward to the front of his pants. Robin brightened and smirked. She pressed into him and whispered, "You know, Zoro... being a Devil Fruit user certainly does have its perks."

Turning around to see a clone of Robin sitting on the kitchen counter and giving him a flirtatious wave, Zoro chuckled darkly. He turned back to the carbon copy of the woman and giggled, "I fucking love you."

"_Ufufufu_... you two have fun."

* * *

Robin returned to the home she shared with Zoro much too late for the swordsman's tastes. He lay in a messy bed, littered with petals, frowning, and only really moving upon his fiancée's return. "Hey, Robin-chan."

"Hi," Robin breathed as she set her shopping bags down. "How are you?"

"The sex was sub-par," Zoro criticized. "Only because it wasn't _really_you."

Robin frowned, in spite of the odd flattery that overtook her. "My clone is very offended."

"Yeah, yeah... you were gone an awful long time." Zoro arched an eyebrow. "What did you people do at the mall, anyway?"

"Ah, girl stuff," Robin answered as she sat down on the edge of the bed. "Vivi got drunk at dinner and claimed that I stole Nami from her. She tried to punch me in the face and, instead, she threw up on my shoes, resulting in me having to buy new ones."

Zoro shifted, placing his head in her lap and smiling up at her. "Wish I could have been there to see it. I don't remember the last time I cried laughing."

"Excuse you, sir, but I don't think you'll be laughing when I tell you that it looked a lot like your hair." Robin countered with a sour expression. "How does it feel knowing that someone's vomit looks like your hair?"

Zoro scoffed dismissively and shrugged. He stroked Robin's cheek and admitted, "I missed you."

"I'm sorry I had to cut our day together short, sweetheart." Robin frowned.

With a shake of his head, the swordsman replied, "Ne, woman, it's alright. We'll have lots of time to spend together when we're married."

"And having shittons of sex while we're at it?" Robin added cheekily. "Hot, sweaty, uninterrupted sex?"

"I fucking love you," Zoro repeated before being engulfed in a kiss.

* * *

**This is... the dirtiest chapter I have written thus far. Wow. For the purposes of this chapter, let's ~pretend~ that Robin's clones are their own separate entities. Robin can't feel whatever the clone is experiencing - that would be pretty awkward under these circumstances, no? Also, if you don't know what it is, body chocolate is essentially chocolate spread... but you use it for sex. They sell it at my local mall. It takes like chocolate pudding.**

**On a side note, I'm considering changing my pen name, yoi. I'll notify you all of the change when and if I figure out what to change my current pen name to.**

**See you next chapter!**

**- Angela**


	17. realize

**One Piece is the property of Eiichiro Oda. Author's notes are at the bottom.**

* * *

"I think I'm more of a boob guy more than a butt guy," Yosaku decided with pursed lips and a beer bottle in his hand. "Because nothing gross comes out of boobs."

"False. What about breast milk?" Usopp corrected. "I still look away when Nami breast-feeds Scott..."

"Awh. You're a queasy one, aren't you, Longnose?" Ace chuckled.

"Well, _I_ don't mind it..." Sanji mumbled from his spot in the kitchen. Raising his voice, he continued, "Why not just appreciate the female as a whole?"

"There has to be _one_ thing you like the most." Johnny drawled. "What about you, Zoro? Boobs or butts?

The swordsman, having excluded himself from the conversation and having just caught the last part, looked up and arched an eyebrow. He answered, "I don't really look at other girls..."

"Oh, come _on_," Johnny groaned, pushing his sunglasses up onto his forehead with a genuinely bothered expression on his face. Snickers arose around the room. "Fine. Which of Robin's _assets_ do you enjoy the most?"

"... I like everything about her."

"I knew it!" Usopp shouted, with the rest of the crowd resounding in booming laughter. "You, Roronoa Zoro, are whipped!"

"Oh, _fuck_ you! You're the married one!" Zoro retorted. "What the hell are you talking about, anyway?"

Yosaku approached Zoro, bending at the waist before his friend. "Robin has your balls on a leash, Zoro. The more you act out, the tighter the leash gets. Because you're afraid of that leash getting tighter, you conform. Soon, you're a product of her mind. You speak when spoken to. You sit in bed with her, reading and commenting on the Fishman Island documentary you two watched. You refuse to take part in possible argument-triggering, typical male conversation. You are whipped, Zoro."

Zoro pushed Yosaku out of his face and sulked. "I'm not... _whipped,_ whatever that means. What's so bad about being faithful?"

"I'm sure Robin looks at other guys." Usopp added. "Nami does..."

"Does she actually like the whole clingy bit?" Ace very seriously inquired. "Is that some sort of fetish?"

Zoro sulked even further, grumbling about his hatred for his so-called "friends" as Sanji treated the group with a fancy meat platter that he set down on the coffee table to admire. The blond smirked, using the tea towel he had thrown over his shoulder before quitting the kitchen to wipe his hands briefly. "I propose a challenge, _marimo._"

"Lay it on me, _Question._" Zoro responded, his heart swelling. A challenge. He liked the sound of that.

"I know a place - the Sandersonia. Somewhere coveted where every hot girl goes on Friday nights like this one - perhaps some more aesthetically pleasing than the lovely Robin-chan."

"Impossible."

"_Quiet,_ algae-head. I don't appreciate you being so perverted," the blond hissed. Zoro mumbled something about hypocrisy under his breath. "Now, while I don't encourage adultery, I wager that there's going to be at least one girl there off of which you can't take your eyes. You won't be able to resist her."

Zoro frowned, both at the mere thought of even getting close to cheating on Robin and at the fact that his friends even thought that he would. He put these thoughts aside for a moment to inquire, "And if it doesn't happen?"

"Name your price," Usopp weighed in.

"You're all my personal servants. For a month. I don't want any lip, especially from you, dartboard-brow prissy." Zoro proposed, ignoring the shit-cook's muttered insults.

Usopp twisted his lips. "And if you lose..."

"No way in hell am I gonna be a maid for all five of you bastards."

"How about this, then?" Yosaku began. "If Zoro loses, he takes care of the tab at the Sandersonia for a month."

"Doesn't seem too fair; he pays for our drinks, we do his laundry? Bullshit." Ace pouted with narrowed eyes.

"If there are no more arguments," Zoro boomed over Ace's lamenting, "The deal's on."

"See you tonight, then." Sanji smirked.

Zoro returned home from Sanji's apartment soon after the deal had been made. While he was positive that this bet would be a total bust and that he would have his five pigheaded buddies as his slaves for a delicious thirty days, it was the actual _going out_ of it all that he was dreading. There was the process of interacting with strangers and unwanted touches, and, oh, what to _wear_...

Zoro stood inside the over-sized closet attached to the master bedroom - he'd upgraded to a walk-in closet when Robin moved in - with a scowl fixed on his face when Robin sauntered in, a fresh basket of laundry in hand. She stated, "I don't think I've ever seen you in here for more than two seconds, Zoro."

"Yeah... I'm going out tonight." Zoro informed her absently as he wrapped an arm around her waist. "With the shit-cook and the rest of 'em."

Robin arched an eyebrow. "You never struck me as the nightlife kind of man. Where are you boys going?"

"Some place called the Sandersonia..."

Robin turned to set the laundry basket down on the carpet before her wide collection of shoes. "That whorehouse?"

"Is that what it is?" Zoro smirked. "No wonder that dartboard-brow bastard loves it so much."

"Well, Zoro..." Robin sighed, handing him a pair of black jeans and a light green Oxford shirt. She lingered on his right arm and smiled. "If you go anywhere near the strip club downstairs, I will personally break your spine."

Zoro smirked. "Wouldn't expect anything less."

Unluckily for Zoro, the deal had indeed entailed visiting the underground strip club. The stubborn shit-cook refused to miss out on spending half his income on tipping half-naked bimbos. And while almost never bothered with women besides Robin, there was something to be admired about a girl who had enough upper body strength to hang upside down on a vertical pole...

"Robin's gonna kill me."

Zoro muttered this to himself multiple times, especially after he would happen to steal a glance at one of the girls working the crowd or one of the highly unsanitary metal poles. He felt like a desperate scumbag being here, but he planned to stay at the bar until Sanji died of a nosebleed and they had to leave. "Robin's gonna kill me..."

"Who's Robin?"

Zoro gave an inward sigh at the female voice. Now the strippers were attempting to _socialize_ with him. "What's it to you? Leave me alone."

"Well, excuse me," said the female as she sat at the bar. "But I just wanted to buy myself a drink. And inquire about your swords."

Zoro looked up from the counter to stare, shocked, at the well-dressed woman on the stool two down from his. He wouldn't have bothered to spare a glance at the female had she not mentioned his swords, which he had insisted on bringing with him, though he'd had to leave them at the door... "My swords? How did you-?"

"I'm here with my Marine buddies," the black-haired female answered quickly as she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her minuscule nose. "I was at the door when you were arguing with the bouncer about leaving them behind. Santoryu, I see? If I remember correctly, Sandai Kitetsu was among the three. Are you into cursed swords?"

Zoro sat nearly gaping at this girl. She could actually talk _swords_. Why, if he ever tried to start a discussion about his katanas with Robin, it ended with her complaining about how they "made her nervous". So, he indulged. "Hope that's not too intimidating."

"Of course it isn't." The woman played, a coy smile on her lips. She placed her elbows on the counter, narrowing her eyes at Zoro. "I know you."

"As the guy you met a few minutes ago?"

"You're the owner of the dojo smack-dab in the middle of all those mansions over on Nanohana Avenue, aren't you?" She concluded. "It's like meeting a celebrity. You must be mighty talented to have your own dojo."

"Damn right, Captain Glasses." Zoro took a sip from his beer bottle to hide his bashful smile. She was inflating his ego way too much in one shot for him to handle. "You hoping to train over there?"

Even in the dim, colourful lights bouncing off the walls in the club, Zoro could spot the blush in Captain Glasses' cheeks. She stammered, "Is that an invitation?"

"Could be. I wouldn't get too sick of seeing you every once in a while." Zoro licked his lips; this girl was much too cute to ignore. "What are you drinking?"

"A v-vodka cranberry." The female stuttered.

Zoro snorted as he flagged the bartender down. "What is this, breakfast? That's weak, Captain Glasses."

The woman slid over to the stool directly beside Zoro's. "Not everyone is a raging alcoholic like yourself, kenshi-san."

_Kenshi-san_. "Robin's gonna kill me."

"You know, I'm starting to think that this Robin person is your girlfriend." Captain Glasses smirked as Zoro requested her beverage. "Is she?"

"Uh..." Zoro was conflicted. Either he could be honest and throw the bet, making him feel like he barely tried to prove his friends wrong, or he could lie and waste money on all his friends' overpriced drinks after he took this flirting game too far. "Technically, no."

It was an omission of the truth, not a lie.

"Good. Because I'm not a homewrecker." the Marine simpered, turning to Zoro and lightly stroking his forearm. "Even then, I'd hate to have to stop flirting now."

Zoro knew bedroom eyes when he saw them, and the brown eyes behind those red frames were burning into his soul. "I never caught your name."

"Tashigi," Captain Glasses confirmed. "My friends call me Tash."

"What about the guys who are into you? What do they call you?" Zoro inquired. _Robin's gonna kill me._

"Well..." Tashigi rasped. "You can find out if we go to my place."

_Robin will kill me and bury my remains under the floorboards._ Zoro chewed on his bottom lip in thought. The last time he got to flirting with a girl like he was at that moment, a girl named Nico Robin, he ended up in the friend zone for a year. It was hellish having to hide his feelings for her while falling deeper in love with her. Even now, when they had been engaged to be married, Zoro found himself unable to comprehend why she still hid things from him. It was as if she still had ulterior motives after all this time, like she was leading him on, seeing how deep he would go before it was all ripped away from him at her hands. Then, there was Captain Glasses. Tashigi. Obviously, Zoro was not yet in love with this girl, but he already felt a connection with her that he had never experienced with Robin. Tashigi had his attention right off the bat with her knowledge of swords, the fact that she was cute as hell helped, plus, she was a shameless flirt. Zoro appreciated her no-bullshit approach to what she wanted, and he would be damned if he didn't take her up on her offer.

Zoro took her hand. "Shall we?"

* * *

"L-Leaving already?"

"Yeah. I, uhm... I have someplace I need to be. I completely forgot. I'm sorry, Tash."

She covered herself with a blue blanket. "Oh... well, you have my number, right? I'd love to see you again."

"Sure, yeah. I guess I'll, uh... see you around."

"Goodnight."

"Yeah."

The excitement of exploring new curves was the first thing on Zoro's mind when he entered Tashigi's apartment, and the excitement was slowly being replaced by fear as he made the shameful trek home to his fiancée. He hadn't gone all the way with Tashigi - they'd been deep in heated foreplay when he got paranoid about the idea of a pair of Robin's eyes in the vicinity - but what he'd done already was perfect reason for Robin to brutally murder him. He felt like utter shit, and he proposed that coming clean to her would alleviate just a fraction of the guilt.

And that was if she didn't snap his neck before he could explain.

As usual, Robin was reading by lamplight when Zoro arrived. Zoro took in her features and altogether forgot about Tashigi, giving a sigh of relief at the disappearance of Captain Glasses from his mind. He greeted, "Hi."

"How was your night? Not _too_ much fun, I hope?" Robin smiled as she removed her reading glasses. At Zoro's silence, she scooted over on their king-sized bed and patted the now empty spot beside her. "Tell me all about it."

"I cheated. Kind of." Zoro blurted out. "Before you get upset, please let me explain."

There was a blank expression on Robin's face, quite possibly one of the most dangerous looks she could wear. She grit her teeth and, in a speech just short of a hiss, she replied, "How much can you explain, Zoro? You cheated on me. That's that."

Zoro exhaled and shook his head as she made to quit the room, holding her hands in his. "It's not like that. I can explain."

Robin retrieved her hands from Zoro's grip and folded her arms, staring sternly at the male. "Go on, then. I'd love to hear just how you managed to _kind of_ cheat on me."

"It's kind of a winded story, but you have to promise me you'll listen. Promise."

The female grit her teeth again and looked away from Zoro's pleading gaze. "Fine."

And so he retold the story, all in one breath: "Me and the guys had this bet thing going. Shit-cook said that I'd end up flirting with or checking out any given girl at the Sandersonia. I decided to bite and we made a deal. If I didn't, Ace, Yosaku, Johnny, Sanji and Usopp would all be my bitches for a month. If I did, I'd cover the tab at the Sandersonia. I was sitting at the bar and this girl - Tashigi - comes up to me and starts spewing some shit about my swords. Long story short, we ended up going back to her apartment and fooling around, I guess. We didn't fuck or anything, just... yeah."

Robin mulled over the events as told by Zoro and nodded slowly. She produced her engagement ring from her left hand and held it out to Zoro. "Take it."

"What?" Zoro spat. "Are you fucking kidding? I was honest with you, _like you always ask of me_, and you're doing this to me?"

"It's meaningless now," Robin gestured to the ring. "I don't want this, and I don't want to commit myself to you if it just means that you're going to 'kind of' cheat on me."

"Babe, you're overreacting. Think about what you're doing." Zoro tried. "It was a mishap."

"It's not a fucking _mishap_ if you knowingly jumped into bed with a stranger!" Robin accused. She hurled the blue diamond ring at Zoro and stepped back. "I can't believe you would betray me like this! When have I ever done something cruel enough to deserve this?!"

Though he was getting a bit riled up himself, the swordsman simply assessed the woman as she regained her composure after yelling. She was more shocked and upset than angry; Zoro could tell by the tears in her eyes. All the defiance he could have possibly possessed at the moment melted away when she began to cry. He took a cautious step towards her. "Robin-chan, I'm sorry."

"Don't come any closer." She warned darkly with a trembling bottom lip.

Despite her words, Zoro pressed on. His fingertips just brushed hers. "I know you're upset with me, Robin-chan. You have no reason not to be. Let's just talk about-"

Robin's open right hand crashed into Zoro's cheek, and there was no time for his head to return back to its original place before she slapped him again, screaming, "Bastard!"

In his movement to hold her wrists, Zoro gave Robin a passing glance to see that she had wrapped her arms around herself, squeezing herself almost protectively as she cried openly, freely. Perhaps what surprised him the most aside from the fact that Robin was expressing shameless emotion was the fact that she fell into his chest when he hugged her. His muscular frame seemed to completely swallow her thin shape as it shook. He whispered, "I never got to tell you why."

"Why what?" She had suddenly developed an interest in the buttons on the shirt she'd picked out for him to avoid Zoro's penetrating gaze.

"Just _why_... why I did what I did with her." The male explained. His hands idly rested on Robin's waist. "At first, I thought her and I legitimately clicked. We're both into swordsmanship, and I thought that that was what blinded me to the actual gravity of what I was doing."

"You wanted to prove something, didn't you?" Robin offered with a glance at him.

"I did. I wanted to prove that I wasn't as stuck on you as everyone says I am. I thought of everything that's wrong with you and I so I wouldn't feel as bad when I went through with... cheating." Putting a label on his actions with Tashigi behind Robin's back was sour on his tongue. "I looked for every excuse I could not to feel bad about it, and, for a while, it worked."

Robin nodded, digesting this. "And then what happened?"

"I realized that no single hour of push ups on top of some girl with tacky glasses could replace what you and I have. Hey, I'm serious!" Zoro frowned when Robin chuckled at his former statement. "I know I've risked ending our relationship already by even thinking for a second that she was any better than you, but you have to trust me when I say that I know just what I would be missing out on if you ever left me."

"And just what would that be?" Robin entertained with a smile.

Zoro blushed even before the words left his mouth. "Knowing what true love is like. I mean, I'm already there, right? Why should I have to start over with someone else?"

With a simper, Robin wiped her remaining tears away and giggled. "Shut up, Zoro. God. I'm exhausted."

"I'd be surprised if you weren't," Zoro scowled as he rubbed his tender left cheek. "Your slaps hurt, woman."

"They're _supposed_ to hurt, sweetheart... speaking of getting hurt, I trust you didn't partake in the strip club?" Robin arched an eyebrow.

Zoro's face flushed; he could feel the blood rushing to his face yet again. "If it counts for anything, I didn't tip any of them."

Pulling back, the archaeologist pulled back and gave Zoro's chest a gentle pat. "If you weren't the breadwinner in this household, I would have clean shattered your spine and made it look like an accident by now. I suppose I'll have to dream up another punishment."

"Oh, have mercy." Zoro bent down to retrieve the engagement ring.

As she crawled into bed, Robin grinned. "I don't know. I might just sneak up on you one of these days."

"Tch." The muscled man joined his fiancée in bed, capturing her left hand and fixing the ring back onto her finger. He kissed her cheek. "Goodnight."

"Wait." Robin hesitated. "One more thing."

"Yeah?"

"... was she prettier than me?"

_Smirk._ "Prettier? Impossible. But she was a hell of a lot shorter. Made me feel weird about marrying a skyscraper."

"Don't be surprised if you wake up and you can't move."

"Whatever you say, Robin-chan."

* * *

**This chapter is about 3,260 words long, thus making it the second-longest one so far. *confetti***

**I've actually wanted to write this one since before I considered making this an entire drabble collection. I've never been a fan of ZoTash, personally, but I've wanted to experiment with a situation in which Zoro has to make a choice between being super faithful and not being, as Usopp put it, whipped. And then this chapter was born.**

**I also wanted to fit in another joke about Robin's height in there. It's a headcanon of mine that Zoro constantly makes fun of her height and she's all like, "You're just mad because you're tiny." Mmhmm.**

**See you all next chapter!**

**- Angela**


	18. promise

**Disclaimer: One Piece is the property of Eiichiro Oda.**

* * *

With shocking blue eyes, impressive curves and legs for days, Robin Nikonov looked like a total catch. Suitors fell at her feet at any given moment, and, yet, upturned their noses at her green-haired "barbarian" with whom she was already made a sliver of romantic progress. Mr. Roronoa wouldn't argue if he had to be her personal bodyguard, someone to scare off every drunk, self-proclaimed ladies' man who belched as he told Robin that she should be a supermodel. Sometimes, when his jealousy got the better of him, he'd usher her away from whatever clean-cut and respectable man caught her eye; Robin would let him because she liked the chase.

The rollercoaster would never end, she concluded, as long as she heard him mumble her name in his slumber.

Robin had a hard time waking Zoro up when the airplane landed at the Domodedovo International Airport. She could barely spare a moment to shake her head when a man in the seat across from them asked if Zoro passed away during the flight as she shook the green-haired man violently. "Goddamn it, Zoro, wake up."

Batting her hands away with a pig-like grunt, the male awoke. Instead of sitting upright, he turned and buried his cheek in his travel pillow. "Leave me alone."

"You're embarrassing me. Get up." Robin grumbled. She rolled her eyes and cast a glance at the falling snow in her Moscow homeland. Ironically enough, the sight warmed her heart; returning to her birthplace after years of having lived in Toronto - which wasn't _nearly _as cold or architecturally exquisite - almost brought tears to her eyes.

And if that wasn't enough to make her cry, Zoro would be her directionally challenged ball and chain for the next three months.

Her sole objective for the month of December was her lead role in The Nutcracker. She would maintain a healthy diet and have a strict rehearsal schedule. At the same time, she didn't want to abandon Zoro in a new atmosphere, and God knew that he would hold it against her later. She would have to visit her mother as well, no matter how resentful she was towards the woman for leaving Robin on a whim when she was young. As an archaeologist, her boss had asked her to do as much research as possible for a new exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum on Russian architecture and the Revolution in the 1910s. Keeping in touch with her friends back home would be a challenge, as well. Chopper's birthday was on Christmas Eve, and Robin didn't know what the hell a seventeen-year-old would want as a birthday present.

Her depression medication was wearing off and she was crying before she knew it.

The suprising warmth of Zoro's hand gripping her left shocked her into drying her eyes. The warmth breath caressed her cheek and ear as Zoro whispered, "It'll be alright, Robin-chan. You'll be okay. I promise. Do you wanna get going now?"

Robin gave a feeble nod as Zoro gathered both of their carry-on bags. Like a child to its mother, she gripped his hand as if her life depended on it. And, for a moment, it did. No matter how familiar she was with these streets, she needed him to keep her grounded. Zoro had this emotional intuition when it came to her; he knew when she was sad and when she needed someone and when she needed help. Robin had only recently come to terms with how well he knew her and how well he knew how to comfort her.

It was for the same reasons that she needed him that she pushed him away.

The first time they spoke after getting off the airplane was when Zoro buried his shivering body in his embarrassingly long coat and commented, "Jesus."

"All the words in the world, and you choose the one being you can't be bothered to pray to." Robin remarked. "Yes, it's almost always this cold."

"Crazy bitch, you're gonna get sick," Zoro nodded at Robin's tights and peacoat as she put on her earmuffs. "Want my scarf?"

"Honey, it was thirty degrees below zero when I was born. This is barbeque weather."

"I feel unsafe. You guys killed a German army with this crap."

"And the Japanese raided and killed dozens of people in a hospital on Christmas Day. Remind me not to get injured."

Zoro mumbled a "touché" and stalked off into the winter-ridden land with Robin at his side.

* * *

The stressed lead ballerina arrived at hers and Zoro's room at the Golden Ring Hotel from rehearsal at eight in the evening. The sock was falling out of her sock bun and her feet were blistering for the first time in years of ballet. Her feet were blistering and that couldn't happen, not within weeks of her performance. Perhaps the only thing that could cheer Robin up was the sight of Zoro sitting expectantly on the bed they were sharing, softening at the sight of her.

Robin leaned on the wall beside the door. "Do you remember Paula?"

"Paula...?"

"Dyuzhenkov. Paula Dyuzhenkov."

The swordsman thought for a moment. "Oh. Crazy hair, impossibly small waist, walks like she has to pee?"

"Yes, her. She's in the production, too. Her and I were best friends since the fifth grade, and she didn't even _look _at me today." Robin explained as she set down her bag and coat. Heaving a sigh, the female gave a feeble whimper.

Zoro held a hand out to her. "Come sit."

Though conflicted between sinking down to the floor to curl into a ball and marching over to Paula's place to give her a piece of her mind - and possibly resulting in Robin's very first set of bloody knuckles - she curled up to Zoro's side. In turn, he snuggled up to her. "Is there a reason why she would do that?"

"I don't know," Robin slurred through her sudden tears. She gave an ironic smile. "Apparently, I have the power to fuck up any sort of happy relationship I have, even when I'm continents away."

"It's weird for you to act so melancholy. Out loud, at least." Zoro noted as he kissed her forehead. "I wish I could help you."

Shaking her head, Robin stared up at Zoro. "Please, don't think for a second that you aren't helping me. It's like this... Paula's not talking to me led to me thinking about the same thing happening to everyone back at home. Like I'll lose all of my friends, one by one, without explanation. And then I'll really be alone... as alone as I feel."

Zoro captured Robin's cheek in his hand, studying her as he wiped her tears. "You think I travelled halfway across the world just so I could abandon you someday? I'm not going anywhere, Robin. You know that."

"I _do_ know that. And that's why... that's why I can't be with you, Zoro." Robin whispered. "I can't be with you because I know that I'm just going to become even more co-dependent, and that's not good for me. I can't do that to myself, or to you."

Robin hit the nail on the head for Zoro then. Because, hell, they both knew that Zoro had been chasing after her for years now. He'd achieved the best friend status and he had no problem admitting to himself that he was pushing for more. Zoro hadn't given up just yet. "I'll wait. I'll help you and I'll keep waiting until you're ready, just like I am."

"God. You just don't listen." Robin was weak as she hit Zoro's arm for emphasis. "Stubborn piece of shit."

"Hit me all you want. I'm not going to give up you." Zoro pressed his lips to hers briefly. She was unresponsive, but she had been for years. "I'll never give up on you."

Robin smiled, still wary of this, but comforted. "I hate you."

"I love you, too, Robin-chan. Now," Zoro exhaled, producing a tourist brochure from the nightstand. "Where's this St. Petersburg Museum?"

"In St. Petersburg. It's not his real penis, you know."

"I just wanna see it. What the hell is so great about it that you crazy-ass people wanted to put it in a _museum_?" Zoro snorted.

Robin yawned and rested her head on Zoro's lap. "I ought to teach you something about Russian history. We'll go tomorrow."

"Promise?"

Robin smiled. "You're a good kisser. Well, at least, when you're in 'brooding samurai' mode."

Zoro blushed. "O-Oi. It's not like I meant to or anything. Shut up."

"So _tsundere_."

_Ah, hell. _Zoro kissed her forehead and stroked the top of her head. "I love you."

Opening her eyes, Robin reached up and stroked his cheek. "I'm getting there."

* * *

**Another Earth chapter. I had to throw this in here; we just finished the WWII unit and I was dying to reference some of the material I've learned. I really like the plot in this one (the unrequited, yet, bordering on skinny love and Robin's emotional problems), so I may revisit it in the future. And if you're wondering what Robin was talking about when she said "It's not his real penis, you know", she was referring to the fact that Grigori Rasputin's penis is apparently preserved in a jar in a museum in Russia. I Googled it - it looks like a turd.**

**Anyway, I should probably explain why I haven't updated in two weeks. I was writing smut, for one (it's about 3,000 words long, and I'm not even done yet). Yes, it's ZoRobin smut. Secondly, I can't promise weekly updates anymore. I'm getting busier, but I'll try to get these up weekly. Thanks for sticking by me. :')**

**- Angela**


	19. look

**Disclaimer: One Piece is the property of Eiichiro Oda (happy birthday to him!).**

* * *

Robin was never hesitant in admitting to herself that she was into the "bad boy" type. Ever since she broke up with her first boyfriend in the tenth grade, she knew what her type was. In all of her relationships, her endeavours, she leaned towards a certain type of guy, and that type of guy was always the rebel with a cause. They weren't much unlike herself, she figured. Unafraid to break the rules for the greater good... or for the hell of it, really. With that similarity as the basis for a relationship, there was no telling how much fun they could have. Because that's what romance was for Robin: fun.

Robin had always searched for a bad boy, yes, but deeper requirements still needed to be met before she indulged in a relationship. The hypothetical man must exude an air of longing, a longing to change or be changed. He needed to be rough around the edges, with wit and intelligence. And, as a bonus, he would never steal even the smallest glance at another woman; Robin _must _be his one and only. At the same time, he wouldn't ever make her feel trapped. He would let her have her space, even if she needed to fight tooth and nail to achieve it.

Nico Robin was lucky enough to find those qualities in Roronoa Zoro.

"You're staring again."

"I'm pensive."

Zoro smirked. "What about?"

Robin pressed her body into his, the springs of the mattress groaning in reply. Her head remained on his smooth, bare chest, her hands playing with his hair and earrings. Her azure eyes studied every scar that littered... no, tattooed his golden brown skin, rippling with defined muscle. Her gentle, womanly caresses contrasted heavily with his ruggedness, and it made something stir in the pit of her stomach when she thought about how much it showed when they got intimate with one another. She stroked his cheek, acknowledging his loving and curious stare as she dreamt silently of how he handled her when things got hot and heavy. When his lust for control and dominance and his need to claim her body as his own met with one another and matched each other, there was only one result: pure, unadulterated passion. And that was what she loved about Roronoa Zoro: his passion. His passion in love, his passion for the art of swordsmanship, his passion in all his endeavours - Zoro possessed an unimpeachable kind of intensity for the things he held dear. Robin couldn't begin to explain how lucky she felt to be part of that list.

She replied, "You. I'm pensive about _you_."

Zoro gave the slightest of nods at Robin's confession, reaching out to push a strand of hair out of her face. "I could say the same thing."

Robin moved to cross her torso with his, laying on top of him. Her left hand rested on his cheek, her thumb stroking the stubbly skin there. "Rather... I'm curious about you."

"Well..." With another smirk, Zoro placed a hand on her lower back, giving her skin a comforting stroke. "What do you want to know?"

"I want to know what's on your mind. Right now." Robin proposed, hoping that, for once, this man would open up to her; not necessarily emotionally, but to let her know of just what went through the brain of a swordsman - _her _swordsman.

He pursed his lips, racking his brain as if he had to think twice about it. Unable to come up with a proper fib, Zoro muttered, "Us."

"Oh. Well... is everything okay? With us?" Robin mumbled, refusing to admit the pang of fear that struck her at his single word.

The male sighed, looking away. "Yeah. Well... I have to tell you something."

Withdrawing from him, Robin settled for a straddle on his waist. She pushed her hair back and out of her face. "Go ahead."

He licked his lips and sat up, holding her hips gently. He stated, "We've been dating... four months now, right?"

Robin smiled and kissed his forehead. "Four months."

Zoro nodded as if to digest this fact. "That's really good. For my standards, at least. And we've been friends longer than that."

"Yeah..." Robin coaxed. "Is something on your mind?"

"Kind of... yeah. Yeah, there is." Zoro was blushing now, even before he spoke. "I have to let you know... I think you're really great. Really. You're funny and pretty and smart - you're _really _fucking smart. And you're weird, too. But I like you, you know? I really like you. A lot... God, I sound like a fucking idiot."

"Zoro?" Robin giggled.

"What?"

For what felt like the thousandth time that night, Robin held Zoro's face in her hands. "I love you, too."

Avoiding Robin's eyes, Zoro blushed furiously. "I never said that."

"As curious as I am about you, I still_ know_ you." The archaeologist lifted Zoro's chin, meeting his single-eyed gaze. "And I've known you for long enough to recognize the meaning of the look on your face."

The swordsman furrowed his eyebrows. He inquired softly, "What's it mean, then?"

Robin smiled gently. "It's love, you idiot. And I feel the same way."

With an excited kiss, Zoro grinned against Robin's still-smiling lips. "Yes. That's what I was aiming for. I love you, Robin."

"I know, Zoro." She laid her head on his chest. "Now, shut up. It's getting too mushy."

"It just feels good to finally be able to say it out loud after so long, you know? I love you, you love me."

Robin blushed and slammed a fist onto Zoro's pecs. "Shut up or I'll take it back."

"Alright, alright..." Zoro reached around Robin's head, stroking her hair affectionately. He whispered, more to himself than her, "You love me."

Recognizing that Zoro had truly been waiting for this, especially after hiding and living with such feelings for ages, Robin left it alone that time. And in that night, she realized that her type had changed. She liked a bad boy, yes, but there was something to be said about a bad boy who had no problem admitting that he was in love. She gave him a gentle kiss and replied, "And don't you ever forget it."

* * *

**Happy new year, readers!**

**A few things I need to let you guys know:**

**- I decided to have this chapter take place pre-engagement for the sake of simpler times, and because I'm sort of losing the will to continue with this storyline. Not necessarily the drabble collection itself, but just the story involving Tashigi and baby Scott and Nami's affair and everything. It's like this: you know when you write something, you look at it, and you just ****_know _****that it's one of those things you're going to look back on in a few years and be embarrassed about it? I'm getting that vibe from it so far. Don't worry; this storyline might pop up a few times in the future, but I want to experiment with Earth AUs and perhaps a genderbend. I suppose we'll see in the future.**

**- I've also re-written the first chapter (titled "beginning"). It was cringe-worthy and super out-of-character, so I re-wrote it to my liking.**

**- What I realized with this chapter is that it could easily lead to smut. Therefore, I'm writing a smutty version of this chapter. It will be posted on my One Piece blog, naturally (condoria-no . tumblr . com).**

**Thanks again! See you all next chapter. :')**


	20. sound

**One Piece is the property of Eiichiro Oda. Author's notes are at the bottom.**

* * *

If one walked across the deck of the _Thousand Sunny_ on a still, moonlit night, the array of noises this person would hear almost seemed to form a symphony. And that was the Straw Hat archaeologist's favourite part of being part of such a crew: the way that these noises seemed to form a haphazard symphony that only a mother, or a member of the Straw Hat Pirates, could love.

Especially on a night like that one, the wee hours of the fourth day of July. Nami's birthday celebration on the previous day left empty barrels and cups and decorations strewn across the deck, and the memories of the lively bash resonated off them, making Robin smile. These things bounced off one another, clacking and rustling lightly, providing the beat, in a way. She walked past the door to the men's quarters, hearing six variations of snores and snorts, and she had been part of this crew to place each one to a face.

But the seventh was missing... Zoro must have been awake.

That was okay for Robin. She wasn't worried; the man's directional sense wasn't so poor that he could wander off the ship, and, if he had, he'd be making quite the scene to arouse everyone from their sleep. It was this that was so intriguing about the swordsman - to Robin, at least. She'd never met someone who so stubbornly persisted in believing that his knack for getting lost was everyone else's fault. Really, Roronoa Zoro was intriguing as a whole - persistence, alcoholism, green hair and all.

Yes, that was the reason she would provide to anyone who asked why she had such a _thing _for him.

She looked to the observation room, wondering if the journey back upstairs was worth seeing the swordsman. The image of Zoro lifting weights, being completely in his element, was alluring to her; she longed to see him in this seemingly unshakable zone. If she could be conceited for a moment, she was alluring enough to distract even the most goal-oriented of men - this fact was proved through her partnership with Crocodile. Then again, they were two different men, one of which had piqued Robin's interest from the start.

She decided to take the trek, climbing the ropes on the mast barefoot. Standing at the foot of the ladder, Robin grinned and stared up through the entrance. Her voice projected perfectly and quietly enough as she asked, "Are you up there, Zoro-san?"

Up in the crow's nest, Zoro's nostrils flared and he growled quietly. He set his dumbbell back down onto the rack before he could put it to use and hissed, "What do you want?"

"Company. You're not the only one who can't sleep, sometimes." Robin replied simply. "Are you busy?"

_For you, all the time in the world. What other tactics do you have up your sleeve?_ Zoro thought. Recently, Robin developed a tendency to linger near him; her gaze, her presence, her penetrating and flirtatious stares... they were all pointing to something almost too obvious for Zoro. Too obvious to confront her about. "Uh... well, no. Just finishing up some training."

Robin had already lifted herself up and onto the floor of the crow's nest from the ladder by the time Zoro answered. She dusted off her purple flannel shorts in which she often slept, taking a seat on the bench in a spot not too far from the swordsman. She straightened out her sweater and asked, "Were you leaving?"

No, he wasn't. But that didn't mean he could afford to waste time. In fact, he had been planning to break into the refrigerator for a late-night swig of sake before the Straw Hat chef got suspicious and made a scene. "Did you need something?"

Robin crossed her right leg over her left, leaning over in order to reveal just a hint of cleavage. "Like I said, I just wanted some company." When Zoro stared at her blankly, she continued, "_Your _company, specifically."

The younger pirate's heartbeat increased greatly in speed. To Zoro's mind, she needn't say another word to get her message across; he knew what she wanted, and he would be damned if he would pass up the opportunity to partake in such an endeavour. He arched an eyebrow. "What for?"

"To pick your brain." Robin shrugged, leaning back against the bench. "To get to know the man behind the muscle, you could say."

Zoro couldn't refrain from making a sour face. _"Why?"_

"I can't be curious?" Robin inquired coolly. "You intrigue me. Surely, a man with such determination and raw skill must have a secret to being so well put together."

Zoro had always been fairly weak when it came to people who stroked his ego, especially someone as attractive as Robin. He arched an eyebrow and let out a chuckle, taking a seat on the floor across from her after setting his swords down beside him. "Well... ask away."

"What drives you, Zoro?"

"... what do you mean?"

The archaeologist cleared her throat. "Wanting to become the world's best swordsman is quite the aspiration. Of course, that's not to say that it's unrealistic, especially for someone as skilled as yourself. There _must _be a reason why you so stubbornly persist, as the rest of us do."

As Zoro usually did when he got to thinking about Kuina, he placed Wado Ichimonji in his lap and unsheathed it. "I made a promise to a childhood friend. This... this is her sword. Her father allowed me to have it."

"Did she pass away?" The woman inquired softly.

Zoro nodded slowly, sheathing the sword once again. "I like to think that her soul is embodied in this sword. I, uh... it sounds crazy, I know, but I still talk to her sometimes."

"It's not crazy at all, Zoro-san. I often talk to my mother when I'm unsure about something." Robin reassured the swordsman. "I think it's sweet that you have a spiritual connection with your friend. However..."

The swordsman cocked an eyebrow. "However what?"

"There's something unsettling about all of this. All this bloodshed for such a goal. Theoretically speaking, Zoro, you should be dead."

"You don't know what the hell you're talking about, woman," Zoro hissed. "I would give my life if it meant I would become the world's greatest swordsman, and that's none of your business."

"I am just saying that I don't think your late friend would have wanted you to constantly challenge death as you-"

Zoro lunged, drawing two of his swords. The archaeologist's only warning was the sound of metal scraping against sheathes and, yet, she remained unmoving. He saw red as he pressed Wado to Robin's throat and pierced the wood of the bench beside her head with Kitetsu, the blade grazing her scalp just slightly. He saw something flash in her eyes but for a moment as he barked, "You know absolutely nothing about Kuina, you ignorant skank! You don't know anything about me! I ought to murder you right now!"

Robin, though paralyzed from shock, felt as if she'd accomplished something: finding the first mate's weak spot and unintentionally toying with it before he lost his patience. Time seemed to freeze, then, with the exception of their chests rising and falling in unison.

"Zoro? Robin? Are you up here?" The quiet clacking of hooves on the ladder preceded the timid arrival of the Straw Hat crew's doctor. "I heard yelling, is everything...?"

The reindeer's gigantic eyes widened with confusion and fear once he witnessed the scene before him. Chopper must have been so terrified, Robin realized when she watched his bottom lip tremble and his eyes pool with tears. She didn't need to look to Zoro for him to withdraw his weapons, but she watched him bite his bottom lip once he realized that he had drawn blood with Kitetsu. She smiled reassuringly at the doctor and whispered, "Chopper, it's fine. Go back to bed, sweetheart."

Chopper was deaf to Robin's speech once he saw the blood that dripped slowly from the blade. "Y-You're bleeding! Robin!"

Robin knelt before the reindeer as he approached her, shaking her head. "Chopper, dear, I'm fine. I promise-"

"Get out." Zoro ordered darkly, his back facing the pair. "Now."

With a brief glance at the swordsman, the archaeologist stood and offered her hand to the currently fretting reindeer. "Come, Chopper. I'll make you some hot chocolate, okay?"

Chopper was jumping on the spot now, trying to reach Robin's head. "No! Robin, you're hurt! It could be infected! Who knows where that sword has been! Please, let me help you!"

"Listen to her, Chopper." Zoro advised softly, but with an air of urgency. "Leave."

Chopper wiped his tears and nodded slowly. Robin captured one of his hooves in her hand, leading him to the ladder and allowing the doctor to descend first. The air was heavy and smelled of something intense, and Robin broke the silence, staring at the ground. "I appear to have... stepped on some toes. I was out of line, and I'm sorry."

"Just get out of here, alright?! God..." Zoro seated himself on the bench and ran his hands through his hair. "Just... fuck off."

Robin folded her arms, her face sour at Zoro's inability to accept her apology. At any rate, it was probably better to leave now before he killed her for real this time.

And though she maintained her composure with Chopper, she could still hear the rapid unsheathing of Zoro's swords in the back of her mind.

* * *

The incident with Zoro left an awkward portion of Robin's hair chopped off, so she asked Nami to cut off the rest of her bangs in the morning. She would only specify how this hairstyle came to be if Nami asked her, which the navigator wasted no time doing.

"Oh, my God," Nami cooed softly as she tested the heat of the curling iron on the palm of her hand. "Did you get, like, really drunk yesterday and cut your hair? Don't worry; Nojiko downed a fifth of vodka once - shaved half her head. It was hilarious, but she made it work."

Robin offered a chuckle. "N-No... nothing like that."

Nami captured Robin's freshly fringed hair inside the metal contraption, curling it cautiously so not to make contact with her skin. "So what was it?"

The older female sighed quietly and clenched her teeth. "Don't... overreact, okay?"

"Of course."

Robin closed her eyes, her eyebrows furrowing at the memory. "Zoro and I were talking about a childhood friend of his that passed away. I said something... offensive to him and-"

"I'll kill him!" Nami roared and, in her excitement, the heat of the curling iron pressed onto Robin's forehead. The archaeologist yelped, and Nami was too fired up to apologize. "How dare he?! I'll murder him!"

"Nami-chan, you- ugh..." Robin rubbed her temples. "Anyway, Chopper came up to the crow's nest, he saw Zoro holding a sword to my throat, he panicked, and he's been worrying about me for hours. Zoro... we haven't spoken since then. Perhaps that's for the better."

Nami made a pensive sound, resuming her hair-curling efforts. "Then... do you still like him?"

"I never _liked _him in the way that you're insinuating. That's childish, is what it is. Childish and foolish, to boot, as I would never jeopardize this crew's relationship for some little crush." Robin quipped, more to herself than to Nami. "And, yet... I'm still unsure."

"It makes sense to be," the navigator replied quietly. "Oh, poor Chopper. He loves you guys. It must have been like... watching mom and dad fight or something. Is he still shaken up?"

"I plan to check up on him before breakfast. Are we done yet?" Robin inquired impatiently. She was dying to get some ointment and a bandage for the burn on her forehead.

Nami moved back and away from Robin, smiling at the archaeologist in the mirror as she admired Robin's new bangs. "Damn, I'm good. Once I draw my map of the world, I'm starting a hairdressing business."

Robin giggled softly. "It's quite nostalgic, isn't it? My hair."

"Really takes me back, yeah." Nami sighed. She then flipped her bright orange hair dramatically and added, "But I am _not _cutting my hair ever again."

Just then, the Straw Hat crew's chef cooed from outside the door. "Ladies? Are you decent?"

"Like he cares," Nami snorted. "Yes, Sanji-kun."

The blond strolled into the room, already smiling wide at the two females. "Breakfast is ready, my angels!"

Robin rose from the elaborate and all-around girly chair and smiled at Sanji. "Thank you for letting us know, Sanji-kun."

Like a groom seeing a bride in her wedding dress, Sanji gasped and covered his mouth with his hands. "Oh! Robin-chan! Your new hairstyle is divine! It reminds me of the days when I first laid eyes on you and I knew that we were meant to be!"

"See?" Robin murmured to Nami. "Nostalgic."

The two females giggled as Sanji led the both of them to the dining room, rambling on and on about the selection of food available to them that morning. On the way, Robin noticed Chopper hobbling along the deck, nibbling on an orange as he made his way to the dining hall.

"Good morning," he greeted, walking side-by-side with Robin. "Are you feeling better?"

"Very much so," Robin answered, though she still didn't take the memory very well. "But I'm sure I'll feel much better once I've eaten, don't you think?"

Chopper giggled. "Yeah! I'm starving."

Robin decided to forgo on telling the doctor about the burn; he was already worried about her and he didn't need another reason to be. Nami leaned over and whispered, "Swordsman approaching at nine o'clock."

Robin told herself that she wasn't going to look. She wasn't going to make any awkward eye contact with him and make everything worse. It became more difficult to do so when he went out of his way to match her stride and nearly collide with her at the door.

"Sorry," Zoro mumbled.

Robin could sense the deeper meaning in his words, as if he was apologizing for something else. She shook her head. "After you."

Zoro blinked at her as if she had spoken a foreign language. He then opened his mouth and his inhale was cut off by Sanji, who barked, "Out of the way, you shithead belly-warmer freak. The ladies need their morning nutrition."

And then something miraculous happened: Zoro didn't retort. He simply gave the chef a dirty look and stepped into the dining room. It was very rare that Zoro kept his mouth shut when Sanji instigated an argument, and it was then that Robin knew that the previous night's events had taken their toll on him.

Interestingly enough, Sanji mumbled, "What's wrong with that marimo fuck?"

"I can't really say..." Robin whispered, desperately trying to convince herself not to pry. Prying didn't work out for her with Zoro before, and it wouldn't now.

Franky caught sight of Robin as she entered the dining hall, exclaiming, "Oww, Robin! _Super_ haircut!"

Robin giggled as Franky's sentiments were shared around the table. She sat in the chair that Sanji pulled out for her, muttering a word of thanks before addressing the crew, saying, "I'm glad you all like it. It was Nami's doing."

Chopper seated himself across from Robin and smiled. "You look pretty."

"Thank you, sweetheart. It isn't too young for me, then?" She gestured to her hair.

"Too young? What do you mean? How old are you, Robin?" The doctor creased his brow in confusion.

"Never ask a lady her age, Chopper," Robin winked. "Should you do so, you won't fare so well when you're older."

Nami chuckled at Robin's right, but her laughter faded as she watched Zoro seat himself to the archaeologist's left. She leaned over to Robin and whispered, "Is he obsessed with you or something?"

Robin shrugged slightly and folded her hands in her lap, waiting patiently to be served. Zoro was quick to whisper to her, asking, "So, we're just _not _going to talk about this?"

"We've nothing to talk about. I apologized, you told me to leave, and that was the end of it." Robin gave Sanji a curt nod as he placed her breakfast on the table before her. "I've achieved _my_ closure."

Zoro scowled and turned his attention to his food. "Bitch."

A bit more theatrically than she herself would have liked, Robin snapped, "You have my full attention now. What more could you _possibly _have to say, Zoro?"

"I didn't think we'd have to discuss this in front of everyone else." Zoro hissed, his eye darting between the alarmed crew and Robin.

Robin stared Zoro in the face as she retorted, "I don't know how idiotic you would have to be to think that I'd want to be alone with you after what happened. I don't want another sword to my throat, thanks."

All noise in the dining hall, from the clinking of cutlery against dishes to the mindless morning chatter, ceased at her words. Still fuming, Robin looked down and jabbed just slightly at her breakfast. She ate slowly, only able to scoop a forkful of hash browns before Sanji slammed his hands onto the table and quite literally growled. "Did you threaten my Robin-chan, you mother_fucking _bastard?"

"So what if I did?! Get off my balls!" Zoro stood. "You should have heard her, running her mouth like she owns the place!"

Sanji growled and leaned in. "How _dare _you speak about her like that?! I ought to fucking fry your disrespectful ass!"

"Just leave it alone, Sanji-kun." Robin gave Zoro a pointed stare. "He's not worth it."

Sanji's mood had never shifted so quickly before. He addressed Robin, still shaking and stammering with anger, saying, "B-But, darling, any... any _barbarian_ who has the-the audacity to-"

"Let it be. It's not his fault he can't control his anger." Robin explained calmly as Zoro bristled at her side. "Some people are just less mature than others."

The swordsman exhaled sharply and hissed a curse, storming out of the dining room. Yet, he had to admit that he really _did _want her forgiveness, because he couldn't stop thinking about her. He never could. At least, not since the flirting game began. Every time she'd toss a grin at him or wink at him as they passed one another, maybe even bite her bottom lip when she watched him lift weights on the deck, Zoro would have to make a quick escape to the bathroom to shove his hand down his pants and moan her name. And every time he ended up with unshakable guilt as he cleaned up his mess, he was left to ponder his relationship with Robin.

First and foremost, Zoro was a swordsman. A brilliant and skilled swordsman, at that, and he was going to be the best one there ever was. Save for Kuina, on whom he had the smallest of crushes, there was no place for any kind of romantic feelings in Zoro's life. Often, he asked himself: if this was so true, why did his heart stop every time he saw Robin? Why did he always embarrass himself in front of her? Why was he so weak to her gaze, her voice, her touch? Most of all, why couldn't he stop thinking about her? She was always on his mind, whether he was fantasizing about holding her hand and kissing her or imagining himself throwing her up against a wall and fucking her senseless.

Classifying these feelings as love scared the hell out of Zoro. Ever since he first watched Sanji make an ass of himself in front of anything with a pair of breasts, falling in love was something Zoro promised himself that he would never do. Not if it looked like that. No one had ever taught him about true love; how was he supposed to spot it?

All Zoro knew was that himself and Robin had unfinished business on more than one front, and he would achieve his closure whether she liked it or not.

* * *

In light of the fact that Sanji promised to murder the swordsman for real this time, the cook had been confined to the infirmary for the remainder of the day, where he was sure not to cause any trouble until he cooled down. When he protested, claiming that the crew would starve without him, Robin and Nami offered to take care of the meals for the rest of the day with the book of recipes that Sanji had been putting together as of late.

"Maybe someone should check on him," Nami suggested vaguely as herself and Robin cleared the table after a simple dinner of meat lasagna and garlic bread. "Make sure he isn't doing anything destructive."

"Oh, he'll be fine," Robin gave a nod and a tight smile. "Sanji-kun will eventually start to believe that raising his voice around a lady is threatening and, perhaps, he'll become just a bit more patient in terms of his temper."

The younger female gathered some used napkins into a garbage bin at which she stared pointedly. "I was talking about Zoro. You really put him on the spot, you know."

"_I _put him on the spot?" Robin scoffed quietly, transporting the remainder of the dirty dishes to the sink. "That stubborn mule never listens to reason. Getting through that thick skull of his is a goddamn mission that I'm not willing to accept. And you can quote me on that."

The navigator rolled her eyes. "And you say _he's _the stubborn one."

With a sour face, Robin left the dining room. She didn't need Nami's criticism, Sanji's constant doting, Chopper's questions, or, most of all, Zoro's bullshit. And that's what it was to her: bullshit. She was tired of his finicky actions: one second, he was playing along with the flirting game, and the next, he'd avoid her like she was a walking plague. Their relationship stopped being a pleasurable, seductive chase and started to get very, very tedious.

She would be lying if she said that Zoro didn't intrigue her. Since day one, since she first appeared to the Straw Hat Pirates on the Going Merry as Miss All Sunday. The muscular, broad-shouldered, green-haired swordsman caught and kept her interest for years. Somehow, over the two-year separation, she finally clued in that, perhaps, it was time to make her move. Not necessarily to have a serious relationship with him - not that he wasn't partner material - but to get to know just how he could treat a lady if the opportunity presented itself. Besides, she hadn't been touched by a man in ages, and she was a human being with needs. Long story short, Roronoa Zoro was an attractive man on whom Robin set her sights. At the same time, Roronoa Zoro was a confused young man with whom she couldn't be bothered.

"Oi, woman."

In the time it took Robin to consider this coincidence as she paused just before ascending the staircase with the intent of tending to her flowers, Zoro emerged from his position on the wall, illuminated only by the sunset. She stated, "I see that you've calmed down a bit."

"Yeah, I could say the same to you." Zoro stood before her, folding his arms across his chest. "Look... I probably overreacted. I just... I didn't mean to scare you or threaten you or whatever."

"Hold on," Robin interrupted slyly. "Who said I was threatened or scared? Surprised, maybe."

The first mate grit his teeth. "I'm trying to apologize."

"Well, your apologies sure could use some work." Robin quipped. "You sound like a massive prick."

"And you're a colossal bitch. You don't see me complaining."

"You're impossible."

"My thoughts exactly."

They turned away from each other, breathing deeply. Where Robin was irritated beyond belief, Zoro was pensive. He knew he couldn't win an argument with such a sharp-tongued, intelligent woman - perhaps this was what he liked about her - but that didn't mean he couldn't try and solve their problem. Without looking at her, Zoro tried, "We're nakama. And we've still got a long way to go, but, we've made... progress. You know. I've stopped being so..."

"Cynical?" Robin offered quietly.

Zoro nodded. "Sure. And you aren't as..."

"Sneaky?" The female looked at Zoro as he digested her conclusion. She offered a smile, which miraculously turned his head. With a crinkle of her nose, at which Zoro chuckled, Robin mused, "I guess we're not so different after all, then."

"Guess not." Zoro smirked. _Let's take this up a notch. _"But... I'm not such a shameless flirt as yourself. Tell me, is it a gift or a curse?"

Robin blushed and quickly covered it up with a smile. "So, you noticed?"

"Hell, yeah." He licked his lips, his heart thundering in his ears. Flirting back was fun and exhilarating, especially when he had Robin's full attention. "From what I've gathered, it's every guy's dream. Having a hot older woman be into you."

This is what Robin had been searching for: this flirtatious exchange leading up to something more. She entertained his fantasy, replying, "Not that I prey on younger men, but, if there's one thing that I like about them, it's their imagination. They know what they want... and how badly they want it."

It was true. Zoro knew just what he wanted to do to her the moment they met, and the thought of being able to do just that drove him insane. The aching below his waist proved it. There was no telling how many nights he'd spent picturing her writhing beneath him, gripping him, scratching him, screaming his name...

Noticing that Zoro had become much quieter, but much more interested in staring at her and her body, she continued, "Then again, I can't speak for all of them. Rather, I should just ask you."

"Hm?" Zoro uttered.

His unspoken curiosity was answered once Robin sauntered closer to him, laying a hand on his chest. Her whisper was just barely audible as she leaned in, her breath tickling his ear. "How badly do you want me?"

In an instant, Zoro lost all self-control. He grabbed her hips, his lips crashing onto hers almost instantly. She jumped slightly, barely getting any time to adjust before Zoro breathed, "Fuck, I want you. So fucking bad."

"Where should we do this?" Robin asked breathlessly. It was a foolish and greedy idea, but this affair was exciting for Robin. The concept of finally getting what she wanted was satisfying, not to mention, she'd almost never seen Zoro look so determined.

If "right here, right now" wasn't such an idiotic suggestion, Zoro would have chosen it. "Observation room."

Wordlessly, Zoro grabbed Robin's hand and quickly quit the space. Every second wasted on traveling without any touching was painful for Zoro, and he didn't hesitate to throw Robin up against the wall once they arrived. He stared at her hungrily, watching her chest heave and her desperate eyes plead.

And, yet, the first thing he said to her was, "I like your hair."

Robin blinked. "What?"

"Your hair. I like it." Zoro repeated. "It's cute, I think."

Involuntarily, Robin reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "Thanks."

"Yeah..." The swordsman said absently. Out of nowhere, a surge of emotion for this woman arose within Zoro as he kissed her with every last bit of passion he could muster. "You're beautiful."

Robin placed a finger over his lips gently, then ran her fingers through his hair. She shook her head and smiled. "Stop talking."

* * *

"He told me to tell him I love him."

Robin confessed this to Nami the next afternoon after a round of heavy interrogation from the navigator. Nami knew that something was up when Robin missed breakfast and stumbled into the room she shared with Nami with hickeys littering her skin. She peppered the archaeologist with question after question until she confessed in their room over a cup of coffee and Nami's choice whiskey.

"He told you_ what?"_ Nami snorted as she walked from the dresser to her bed. She raised her glass to her lips, crossing her legs on her bed and facing Robin as she sat on hers. "See? I knew he was just like Sanji-kun deep down."

"I don't know!" Robin sighed and shrugged. "We were just laying there, he looked at me, and... said it."

Crinkling her nose, Nami asked, "What did he mean?"

"I still don't know," Robin put on a pensive expression. "I asked him why, and all he said was, 'Then lie to me'."

"Ooh. Brooding swordsman alert. I always knew he liked you, you know."

Robin delicately cradled her mug in her hands. "Liked, perhaps, but... love?"

"Well... he's known you for _years_. Maybe he's had feelings for you since you met. Besides, I'll never forget that one conversation at Skypiea. Remember?" Nami chuckled before dropping her voice to imitate Robin's. "'Mind if I tag along... kenshi-san?'" She dropped her voice even lower, flexing her non-existent muscles, imitating Zoro. "'As long as you don't... slow me down.'"

"That's irrelevant!" Robin giggled.

"And when you were shocked by Eneru and Zoro caught you _before you even touched the ground_? The boy loves you, Robin." A sincere smile crossed Nami's face. "And, even though you could do _so _much better... you should give him a chance."

"I suppose." Robin said through a smile.

Nami smirked. "Anyway, onto the important stuff... was he good? With that sore throat of yours, I deserve to know what it was like."

"So I'm a screamer. What of it?" Robin accused sheepishly. "What do you want to know, anyway?"

Nami leaped the gap between Robin's bed and hers, perching herself at the archaeologist's side. "Well, _was he good? _Was he at least big? Did he know what he was doing? Did he eat out?"

"_Christ, _Nami."

As the two girls chattered, Zoro paced back and forth on the deck of the _Sunny_. He hadn't spoken to Robin since the previous night, and that was his own fault; what was he to say to her? Compliment her on her lovemaking skills? Tell her that he hoped they could do it again sometime? One thing he definitely had to do was explain himself for bringing up the concept of love to someone who hadn't shown feelings any deeper than lust for him. From the moment he kissed her, it was confirmed that he was in love with her, and there was no denying it. Hearing the same from her would validate the fact that he was trying at all. He felt downright cheap having sex with her and not telling her how he felt.

That would be his first order of business that afternoon. Zoro looked to the women's quarters and sighed, making his way up the stairs. He could already hear their conversation from outside, they were so loud.

"Well, I couldn't exactly_ measure _it." Robin was saying as she laughed. "It felt pretty good, though."

Zoro blushed. Was this normally what they discussed?

Nami spoke next. "Well, did you... you know..."

"Oh, won't you just_ say _it?"

"You know! Did you blow him?"

"Nami, that's disgusting. The man bathes twice a month."

The swordsman scowled. He didn't think his shower schedule was any of their business. He blushed even deeper when Nami suggested, "Perhaps you should shower with him sometime, no? Wash off all that filth."

"Stop!" Robin chuckled.

"Like you haven't thought of it," Nami retorted. "I'm gonna go get something to eat? You coming with?"

"I'm alright. Thank you."

"Suit yourself."

With barely enough time to scramble away from the door so not to look like a pervert, Zoro was left standing directly in front of the door as Nami opened it. The navigator jumped just slightly, arched an eyebrow, and called out to Robin, "Your boyfriend's here."

"He is not my boyfriend, Nami." Robin hissed. She came to the door, grinning and tossing Zoro a flirtatious wave. Cheekily, she inquired, "Slept well, I hope?"

"Is that a trick question?" The swordsman smirked.

"Ew," Nami complained, pushing past Zoro and quitting the room as quickly as possible.

Zoro and Robin stared after Nami, then turned back to one another and began to laugh. Robin chuckled, "Would you like to come in?"

"Sure," Zoro walked in, studying the girls' room. It was quaint. Almost cute. Turning back to Robin, he captured her hands in his. "I, uhm... I need to talk to you about something."

Robin nodded. "Go ahead. I'm all ears."

"Right. Uh... well, I know that what I said last night was way out of left field. I wanted to explain myself."

The archaeologist's interest peaked indefinitely. It was as if he'd read her mind. "Of course. Would you like to sit?"

"No, I... I just want to make this as brief as possible." Mainly because he felt like he was going to throw up, he was so nervous. "To be honest, Robin... I've been so hot and cold towards you because I just didn't know how to tell you this. I've never felt this way about anybody before, and it freaks me out."

_I know what you mean,_ Robin thought. She reached out to stroke his face. "You can tell me, Zoro."

"I'm falling in love with you." Zoro blurted out. Once the bulk of his confession was out of the way, he began to elaborate. "Not a day goes by that I don't think about you. You're the most amazing woman I've ever met - apart from Kuina, of course - and I think that you and I could be really, really good for each other, even though I'm just some idiot and you're the smartest, most intelligent, beautiful person on the fucking planet. And I really need to know how you feel."

Strangely enough, Robin had been expecting this. She let Zoro pull her in close. "We're nakama, right?"

"With benefits."

"Yes, yes, of course." Robin waved a hand at him as he massaged her sides. "I just don't want to do anything that might... jeopardize the unity of our crew. I mean, we're like family here. Why... why rock the boat, you know?"

Zoro could pinpoint the exact moment when his heart broke after realizing what Robin was saying. He let go of her and stepped backward, more embarrassed than angry with her. He was hurt and he felt cheated; she led him on, only to ruin every bit of hope he had that, yes, this could work. This is why he had always told himself that getting involved with women was stupid. It only resulted in heartbreak and utter crap. He shook his head and shrugged. "You know what? This was a... a stupid idea. I'm sorry to have wasted your time."

"But that doesn't mean we can't change that." Robin continued with a smile. "Challenge the norm, perhaps."

_Now _Zoro was embarrassed. "So..."

Robin blushed deeply. "I'm saying I like you, you drama queen. Don't make me spell it out for you."

The male let out a laugh that was a mixture of relief and pure chagrin. "Oh."

"Yes. 'Oh'." Robin held Zoro's hands this time, maintaining eye contact with him as she slurred, "And about last night..."

"Insane." Zoro laughed.

"I know," Robin agreed. "But I have to ask... that wasn't your first time, was it? Couldn't have been."

Zoro's blush told the whole story. "Well... I-I mean-"

"I must say, you fooled me. You seemed rather experienced and, for that, I commend you." Robin's fingertips found Zoro's cheek again. "What do you know? The best sex I've ever had was with my first virgin."

"Who am I being compared to?"

Very seriously, Robin looked Zoro in the eye and said, "Well... all of Baroque Works, obviously."

Zoro gaped. "Holy shit!"

"I'm only joking, Zoro." The woman laughed. "Crocodile and I had our... encounters."

"Of course, of course." Zoro pulled Robin in close again, his hands settling with a firm grip on her behind. "I'm gonna make you forget all about him."

"And just how-"

Zoro kissed her before she could offer her cheeky reply. Instinctively, Robin used a Devil Fruit arm to lock the door. He pinned her to the bed, groping her eagerly. He slowed down, moving to kiss her neck. Robin breathed, "What about Nami?"

Impatiently, the swordsman answered, "She'll survive for the next few hours. You're so sexy..."

His calloused fingertips raced up her torso beneath her t-shirt and his hand clamped onto her breast, massaging gently. The female closed her eyes and her lips parted. "Oh, Zoro..."

"You have _got _to be shitting me!" Nami's shrill voice sounded from outside as she tugged on the door.

"Don't come in, Nami!" Robin warned. She stripped Zoro of his shirt. "We're in the middle of something!"

"Do _not _touch my bed! I can't believe I'm being denied access to my own room! What the hell is wrong with you people?! Ooh, you're gonna owe me so much, Robin! Don't touch my stuff, either!"

"Shut up!" Zoro complained.

"I will _murder _you!"

Robin chuckled and murmured, "She seems upset."

"S'nothing new." Zoro paused, staring down at Robin. He brushed her fringed hair out of her face with a goofy smile. "You're beautiful."

No longer taken aback by such comments from Zoro, the female kissed him gently, innocently; quite the change of pace compared to the past day. Her fingers found a home running through his hair once more. "You are much too sweet."

Pressing his forehead to hers, Zoro whispered, "And I love you."

"Soon, I will, too." Robin whispered back.

Even then, as their relationship grew, she was still unable to define the _thing _she had for Zoro. She also realized that there was no need to do so in the first place; this _thing _didn't need a label to come to fruition. Zoro was all it needed and, even though she refused to admit it, Zoro became all she needed.

* * *

**At 6,356 words, this is my longest update so far. Longest in more ways than one; I have been writing this since the third of January, and this idea has been in my mind since before I started this drabble collection. You have no idea how happy I am that I'm finally done with this chapter, and with this prompt! They've been nagging me for ages!**

**Forgive me if there are some mistakes with regards to the architecture of the Thousand Sunny. I spent a lot of time trying to perfect it with the blueprints and watching videos from the actual Thousand Sunny ship in Nagasaki, so I hope I didn't totally butcher the whole thing.**

**Also, new cover art! Credit, sans spaces, can be found here: www . zerochan 1223043**

**Anyway, thanks for reading. :')**

**- Angela**


	21. soothe

**One Piece is the property of Eiichiro Oda. Also, there's a bit of a graphic scene (involving some blood) in this chapter - just a warning.**

* * *

"Serious discussion, okay? I'm full on booze and pizza and I'm feeling honest."

"_Fufufu_, yes, sir."

"We've been married for a while now, yes?"

"Two and a half years," Robin kissed Zoro's cheek and giggled at the sudden splash of rouge left behind by both her lip gloss and his blush. "Yes."

"We've had some fun, done some traveling. Just you and me."

"Yes."

Zoro breathed a sigh of air and swaddled himself and Robin deep into the blanket that surrounded them. "Paint me a family portrait. What's your idea of you, me, and _x _amount of children with _x _genders and all that."

"What a question!" Robin blushed. How Zoro was so easily able to read her mind, she would never know. "A girl. Named... Selah. I love that name, Selah."

"Any middle names?"

"Olvia. It's the least I can do, since Selah wouldn't have a grandmother to spoil her rotten." Robin gave a small chuckle. "Roronoa Olvia Selah. She would have black hair, your eyes or something lighter, like a milk chocolate colour. She'd blame both of us for her being freakishly tall."

The couple shares a laugh and Zoro added, "She'll blame you more than me."

"Quiet, Zoro. Anyway, you'll be a total softie around her. You'd call her 'Angel' or 'Princess' and stuff like that, but not in public." Robin wrapped her arms around Zoro's torso. "And she'll love us. And we'll love her to death. And we'll all love each other."

Zoro hummed in acknowledgment and pressed his lips to Robin's temple. "Okay. So, we have a game plan, technically."

Her curiosity nagged at her, even though she knee the answer before he could reply to her. "What are you getting at, Zoro?"

Zoro licked his lips, drawing Robin in close to his person. "I would love to start a family with you. And, of course, before we can do that, the one thing I need is you to, y'know, want to."

"But I'll lose my magnificent figure." Robin joked. Zoro didn't catch on immediately, as usual, so Robin continued, "Zoro, you have no idea how good that sounds. I mean, we won't even have to move or anything. Your house is big enough-"

"For the three of us. A-And I could build a nursery in one of the spare rooms. I'll take some time off from teaching the kids and let Johnny and Yosaku take over while look after our baby. Maybe I can stay home from work and do some shopping for stuff like a crib and blankets and whatever." Zoro paused, blushing. "Spoil you."

Robin smiled, deeply touched. She stroked his cheek gently. "With a father like you, she'll be the luckiest girl in the world."

"Or luckiest boy." Zoro added, smirking. With two fingers beneath Robin's chin, Zoro kissed Robin's lips gently, an action at which she chuckled softly. Zoro rasped, "Should we try tonight?"

"I just ate." Robin gestured to the empty pizza box with a tilt of her head. "I still want to give it some thought, okay?"

"Sure, of course." The swordsman nodded, sinking down and placing his head on Robin's lap. He smiled up at her, feigning a yawn. "Tell me a bedtime story, Robin."

The archeologist grinned, letting her fingers comb through her husband's hair. "Well, once upon a blue diamond ring, there was a brave and humble swordsman that presented his beautiful, intelligent wife with a more romantic dinner than goat cheese and bacon pizza before he suggested that they try and make a baby."

"That brave and humble swordsman probably didn't get the coupon book in the mail," Zoro grumbled.

"Shh-shh. Anyway, the brave and humble swordsman and his wife loved each other very much. Consequently, they were soon lucky enough to have their very own beautiful baby girl - or boy, what have you. For the story's sake, this child was a girl. Much like he had done with his wife, the swordsman was a fierce protector of his daughter. He conquered every paper cut with a kiss, and every broken heart with a hug. As brave as he was, the swordsman possessed a great fear."

Zoro quickly arched an eyebrow. "Fear? I'm not scared of anything."

"And I'm not talking about_ you_." Robin snapped. Thoughtfully, she ran her fingers through the green hair present before her, reminiscent of the grass in her flower garden. "His greatest fear was losing idea of losing his baby girl terrified him. Perhaps this love for his daughter eclipsed his passion for every other determination that he left behind in his past, daughterless life. So he guarded her, on and on."

Anxious, the male inquired, "Does this story have a happy ending?"

The archaeologist smiled, bestowing a kiss on her husband's lips. "That'll be your decision."

Zoro blushed, raising a hand to twirl part of her hair between his fingers. "Thought you said I _wasn't _the brave swordsman."

"I may have lied." Robin smirked. "Shall we go to bed?"

With a grunt, Zoro kicked the pizza box off the bed - an action for which Robin scolded him for making a mess - and joined his wife under the covers. They took to a spooning position, a muscular frame closed protectively over a frail, curvy one. Zoro whispered, "You know, I am kind of scared of something."

Robin flipped over onto her other side, staring up at Zoro as he pulled her in close. "What would that be?"

"The day that story has to end," Zoro kissed her forehead gently. "Goodnight."

* * *

Both Robin and Zoro began preparing for the baby in the ways that they both saw fit. Though Robin recognized the fact that Zoro was getting ahead of himself, she watched, amused, as her husband sat in the study, working on the blueprints for a crib that he was determined to build with his own two hands. He'd bring home massive planks of wood that he'd lifted from the construction site to build said crib, studying already-made cribs from catalogues that he borrowed from Nami for a fee and not without gushing over Robin and Zoro's decision to have a baby.

Meanwhile, Robin became inclined to linger by the museum's daycare after declaring a bathroom break. The only time that she'd really seen the daycare was during her orientation, when it was barren and looked like nothing more than an abandoned nursery from a low-budget horror film. With summer vacation freeing the children from school, there came a surplus of small boys and girls with their employee parents. Children in large masses terrified Robin, but, with the possibility of having a few of her own soon enough, there was a learning experience available for her at the daycare.

After some negotiating and conversations with the museum manager, the following Monday was Robin's first day as a daycare tenant. Groggy-eyed children filed in as early as seven in the morning, unceremoniously shoved in by their parents who immediately went off to work in the gift shop or the front desk or in several other sections of the establishment. The children seemed almost dead, Robin observed, as they went on to lamely play with blocks or slump to the floor, napping on the rough carpet.

Her job wasn't to entertain the children, anyway.

A light tugging on her skirt caught her attention. A small voice asked, "Miss?"

Something melted Robin's heart about the sound itself and she looked down at the source, finding a small, fair-skinned boy in a beautiful traditional kimono. The top half of his scalp was shaved, the remainder of his jet black hair pulled into a puffy topknot. His cheeks were rosy and his eyelids drooping as he mumbled, "I have to go to the bathroom."

"O-Oh, of course, sweetie," Robin chirped, ecstatic about her first real one-on-one journey with a child from the daycare. "I'll show you where it is. Come!"

Robin held out one of her hands, prompting the boy to hold it. In reply, he looked up at her, stretching out his arms and wiggling his fingers. This boy, perfectly capable of walking on his own, wanted to be carried. Thinking it nonsenical at first, Robin complied anyway, scooping the boy up into her arms and allowing him to wrap his legs around her waist as she held him tight. His right hand hooked onto her uniform blue blazer, where the first button was fastened. She looked around at the other children, most of whom were already knocked out or, if they weren't asleep, they were deeply focused on colouring the simplistic black and white drawings provided for them.

"Okay," she sighed as she completed her assessment of the room. _Don't kill each other - I'll get fired and it'll be a pain getting the blood out of the carpet. _Thus, Robin began her trek through the broad hallways of the museum. "Okay."

The child was a very quiet boy. He laid his head against Robin's chest wordlessly, sometimes looking up and around at the colourful murals along the walls. Robin respected his quietness, cancelling her plans to inquire about his name and perhaps how old he was and what he liked to do. They arrived at the washrooms in silence, where Robin set the boy down and crouched to his level. She pointed to the entryway of the men's washroom, instructing, "The washroom is right there. Do you know how to get back to the daycare on your own?"

He shook his head vigorously. "Can you wait for me?"

"Well, the other boys and girls need someone to watch them." Robin regretfully informed him. She hated to have to leave him alone; he was a right adorable little angel to her (thus far, at least).

"They'll be fine. In the morning, they never do anything. Except maybe ask me about my hair, my clothes..." The boy's lips and forehead creased, forming a scowl. "Make fun of my dad for being a janitor."

"Kinemon..." Robin whispered her co-worker's name, seeing the resemblance between the two of them as she cupped the boy's face in her hands. She smiled reassuringly at the child. "You know, there's something to be said about a young man who can dress himself in beautiful cultural clothing."

"What does that mean?"

"It means... you're proud of your country. It means you're a strong and brave boy who isn't afraid to show his roots. And anyone who has a problem with that can take it up with me." She winked. "And the proper term is _custodian_ - it means being in charge of guarding property, you know."

With sparkling eyes, the boy tested the word aloud a few times, then smiled at Robin before bounding into the washroom. Satisfied with the boy's reaction, Robin stood, brushed off her skirt and folded her arms. Handling children couldn't have been the nightmare that society made it out to be. And once she had her own, such a joy would be magnified to an unimaginable greatness.

His newfound knowledge shone before the other children as he pointed out that he was the brave and strong son of a _custodian_. The eyes of the other children sparkled with awe at this new word - four syllables and nine letters of wonder - and the boy turned back to Robin, shooting her a smile and a thumbs-up.

Robin's bond with Momonosuke had been a week in the making now, and Robin had spoken volumes about it to Zoro. She spoke of how he blushed when the other boys and girls accused him of having a crush on Robin and how he would find big words in the dictionary and ask Robin if she knew what they meant, because he knew and he wouldn't tell her. She was experiencing her first real taste of motherhood.

"He can't stop talking about you, you know. Momonosuke."

Kinemon indulged this as he accepted his sleeping son from Robin's arms at the end of the workday that Friday. Robin kissed the top of Momonosuke's head and smiled. "As do I with my husband. Has he spoken kindly?"

"Sure has. You must have brainwashed him." Kinemon looked to Momonosuke as the boy's eyelids fluttered open and he rested his head on his father's chest, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Since his mother passed away, he's been..."

"Distant?"

"A real prick. The kid loves you," Kinemon stated softly. "I don't know how you do it. You'd have to have a few of your own to be able to transform a kid like Momonosuke. What are you, a mother of ten?"

"Actually, I haven't any just yet..."

Robin trailed off at the sight of her husband engaging in small talk with the museum secretary, Valentina, regarding the bouquet of light pink roses with which he strolled in. With a smile, Robin swept up to her green-haired beau and inquired, "Lovely flowers. There's someone here who might greatly enjoy them."

"Can't seem to find her," Zoro smirked. He wrapped a muscular arm around Robin's waist and gave her a chaste kiss, handing the bouquet of roses to his wife with a whispered, "For you."

"Thank you... oh, I would love for you to meet Momonosuke!" The archaeologist waved Kinemon over enthusiastically, giving the small boy a light pat on the head. Tenderly, she introduced, "Momonosuke, this is my husband, Zoro."

"So, this is the kid who's stealing my wife from me, huh?" The swordsman teased lightly. "I've heard a lot about you."

With a tip of his chin towards Zoro's hair, the the boy noted, "There's an alien on your head."

Kinemon snorted and Robin chuckled at the way Zoro's grin melted into a deep frown. The male museum employee excused himself and his son from the scene, after which Zoro hissed, "Little punk."

"Oh, Zoro, he's only a boy."

"If one of my dojo kids disrespected me like that, I'd waterboard him over the goddamn bridge until he learned his lesson..." Noting Robin's alarmed stare, Zoro added, "The _dojo _kids. Not ours. Speaking of which..."

Robin grinned. "What's on your mind?"

"I was wondering if you'd wanna try tonight. You know, if you'd wanna try... h-having kids." He was blushing by the end of his first burst of speech - an uncommon feat for a man who had no problem proposing casual intercourse to Robin. Idly, he held her hips.

"Is that what these flowers were for? Bribing me, are you?" The female kissed Zoro's nose lightly. "How could I say no to this face?"

"Great! The car's still in drive."

"Hold your horses, young man - I want to be romanced first." Robin chided, sauntering before Zoro and bidding adieu to Valentina.

Rolling his unsealed eye, Zoro chased after Robin, giving her behind a playful smack. He wrapped his arms around her waist, waddling behind her and murmuring, "There's only one way I know how."

"_Ufufufu, _you fool..."

Zoro's special kind of romancing lasted long after its initiation, resulting in a passionate encounter at home, filled with tossing and turning and breathy "I love you"s being uttered with every intense increase in pleasure. The swordsman was loose, uninhibited, knowing that there was a need to fulfill for both of them that was far more meaningful than any kind of orgasm. Not a second of hesitation existed between the two lovers that night, and their reward was a doctor strolling into his office with a smile on his face and a heartfelt, "Congratulations."

* * *

"You're glowing, Robin. New skin care regiment?" Valentina noted during hers and Robin's lunch break in their bleak yet cozy staff room.

"Am I?" The archaeologist blushed and returned to her modest garden salad and water. It had been seven weeks into her pregnancy and she was still reliving the moments leading up to the present: the night her and Zoro made love, the doctor's telltale smile, how Nami and the others cheered when they told them the good news. It was as if she'd been walking in an art gallery of someone else's ideal journey of wanting to have a family, only to realize that it was her own surreal experience. "I hadn't noticed."

"Oh, Robin, I'm not stupid. You don't wear your skirts up to your waist anymore, you're peeing every ten minutes, you can't stand the smell of my sushi? Spill." Valentina smirked, her hazel eyes glinting mischievously.

The secretary had cracked the case, it seemed. Robin smiled. "Do you remember that night when my husband came by the museum? With the roses and everything?"

"Green hair guy, yeah."

"Well, we'd been discussing starting a family for a while, and... well-"

Letting out a squeal, Valentina abandoned her lunch to embrace Robin enthusiastically. "This is amazing! I'm so happy for you!"

"Thank you. It means a lot." Robin sighed as the other female released her from her grip. Her abdomen cramped viciously, as had been commonplace for Robin as of late. Not to mention that she'd been swelling like a hot air balloon, more than she thought normal for seven weeks.

"We should throw a party! With everyone here! We could get a caterer and- oh, my God, I know this café; we could get a cake there! There's so much planning to do!"

"That's really not, um... necessary." Robin swallowed thickly, frowning as yet another wave of nausea hit her. Robin _hated _vomiting, but even such a trait could not explain her suddenly painful heartbeat and the sweat forming on her brow. She swayed as she stood. "I think I'm going to be sick."

"O-Oh, let's get out of here, then. I'll come to the washroom with you." Valentina hoisted her purse onto her shoulder, making to stand until she looked down, seeing the thick, dark blood running down Robin's leg beneath her black tights. "Holy shit! Robin, you're-"

It all seemed to happen at once as Robin emptied the contents of her stomach onto the tiled floor, the sight of the blood only increasing the flow. She could hear people calling out to her, Valentina shouting at someone to "get to a phone and call a fucking ambulance", and felt the presence of a crowd above the nausea and the stabbing pain in the pit of her stomach.

"S-Someone... call my husband," she pleaded weakly, her heart pounding violently. She was terrified, confused and unaware of how her beading sweat mixed in with tears on her cheeks. Her surreal experience had become warped in a pool of blood on the polished ground - the last thing she could remember.

Her earliest memory of waking up was a white tiled ceiling with harsh lights of the same colour. The sheets beneath her felt like the gift paper that got stuffed into bags to hide a gift... but the gift, Robin's gift, felt missing. The bag betrayed her and stole it from her, the only evidence being the vacant feeling.

Warm lips pressed against her right hand, followed by a recognizable voice that whispered, "Oh, thank God. I thought I lost you."

"Zoro?" Robin croaked, placing the voice to the face present at her bedside. Tears were brimming in the brown iris that met her azure hues.

"Robin, I came as soon as I could. I saw the ambulance leaving the museum and, fuck, I was so terrified..."

"Oh, Zoro, I..."

A woman with the face of a fairy tale witch - complete with wrinkles, a pointed chin and long grey hair - but the body of an athletic twenty-year-old strolled into the room. She first studied the couple and then her clipboard. "Mrs. Roronoa?"

Robin's heart leapt into her throat. "Doctor, is my baby okay? The-The baby?"

"My name is Doctor Kureha. I'm glad to see that you're recovering nicely - I can't deny that you were in shit shape when they wheeled you in here, gahaha!"

The shrill laugh annoyed and startled Robin. She furrowed her eyebrows and insisted, "Recovering? What are you talking about?"

"Got a selective memory, do you? Maybe you took a bad fall when you were vomiting up a storm. Anyway, your D&C went smoothly. You'll be clear to go in a few hours and our... findings were sent to the lab."

"D&C?" Robin very slowly repeated, pushing herself up and into a sitting position. "As in dilation and curettage?"

"Bingo."

"B-But... that would mean..." Memory after memory hit Robin in rapid sequence. The incident at the museum, being wheeled away, Valentina sitting at her side in the ambulance and holding her hand... the blood. She lowered her face into her hands.

"What we have here is a partial molar pregnancy. Essentially, this happens when there are two sets of chromosomes from the father and only one from the mother... you following me, mosshead?" Dr. Kureha asked as she studied Zoro's dumbstruck expression.

"How does that happen?" He asked urgently, looking briefly at his completely still and silent wife before returning his gaze to the doctor. "How could this have happened?"

The doctor exhaled, searching for a way to simplify the explanation. "If two sperm fertilize the same egg - it's all very complicated. Mrs. Roronoa, did you speak to a practitioner about your symptoms?"

"No," Robin moaned. "I thought... I thought that's what was supposed to happen. When you're pregnant. I mean, the spotting had never been that bad before..."

"Well, then, you should've done your homework, hun."

"With all due respect, Doctor, there's no need to be so fucking rude." Zoro hissed. Realizing how he'd snapped at the person helping them understand their predicament, he pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, "What... what do we have to do?"

Dr. Kureha scowled briefly, and then folded her arms. "The abnormal growth had only been developing for a short while, which lessens your risk of any further complications. We'll still need to have you come back for weekly checkups and such. She'll need to be on birth control for a bit."

"Wait, birth control?" Robin interjected. The desperation in her voice and eyes was clear. "For how long?"

Dr. Kureha's pager gave a sharp beep and she peeked at it. Absently, she answered, "As with the checkups, about a year. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

Both Zoro and Robin stared after the doctor until she left. In a moment, Zoro slowly took Robin's hand, pressing his lips to the back of her hand and holding them there. Robin's free hand was brought up to her mouth, her silent tears rolling down her cheeks. "Zoro?"

"Yeah?" Zoro answered tiredly.

She sniffed and gave a sob, asking, "Why are we being punished?"

"I couldn't tell you if I tried..." the male whispered. He pressed his forehead to her hand, grasping it with both of his hands. "Robin, I'm so, so sorry. I'm sorry I did this to you."

"I'm the one who miscarried - please don't blame yourself." That word burned on her tongue - the word that defined how her gift, her happiness, had been stolen. "I don't know what I could have done to deserve this. What _we _could have done..."

The swordsman squeezed Robin's hand, then fanned her fingers out on his palms. "A second miscarriage is... really unlikely. I know that because Nami lent me some of her pregnancy magazines or whatever. I told her that... that I was scared that I might not be a good father. She said they'd help me prepare. I remember reading about miscarriages and everything and the one thing that I remembered was that they almost never happen twice. Maybe... maybe we'll be the lucky ones."

"I know, Zoro. Thank you..." Robin laid back down, turning onto her side and looking up at Zoro. "I just... I thought this baby might be good for us. Not everyone is lucky enough to get it on the first try... I guess we didn't deserve it."

"You deserve to be happy. It'll only be a year." Zoro kissed Robin's forehead. "Only a year. Besides, I see you with that little runt from the museum. It'll be like... practice."

"He's a lot like you, you know. Stubborn as a mule." Unbelievably, Robin cracked a smile. Zoro frowned and Robin caressed his cheek, whispering, "You don't need any magazine to show you how to be a good father. Just stay like this."

The swordsman smiled, bestowing a soft kiss upon Robin's still-smiling lips. "One year."

Robin was discharged from the hospital not much later and, immediately, the comfort she felt with Zoro vanished as she stepped into the summer sunlight. As usual, she began to worry. When she worried, she became unreachable. She'd confine herself in her room to worry alone, not accepting any help or comfort. And she had a lot to worry about, she felt. What would she tell Nami and the others? What of the people who witnessed the scene and wanted to know what happened - could she explain without breaking down all over again? And what of Momonosuke? Had he seen it happen? How could she explain this kind of loss to him?

As part of an errand run two weeks following the incident, both Zoro and Robin stopped by the museum to discuss Robin's return to work.

Robin caught Valentina's sympathetic gaze the moment she walked in, accepting the way the secretary immediately began to dote on her. "We were so worried about you, Robin. _I _was worried. I'm so sorry I couldn't stay with you - I had to let the boss know what happened and-"

"Please, Valentina, what you did for me is enough. Thank you." The archaeologist released Zoro's hand - with her new fear of losing yet another loved one, she'd taken to remaining physically attached to him as often as possible as of late - and gave the fretting girl a consuming hug. "I'm just here to speak to the professor about getting back to work."

"Oh, great! I'll, um... I'll take you there."

"It's only been two weeks, dear. Unless they turned the place upside down while I was gone, I can manage." She moved to take Zoro's hand.

Valentina stopped in front of the married couple. "Please. There's... a stop we have to make."

Zoro squeezed Robin's hand, giving her a reassuring smile. "Babe, it can wait. Let's just go ahead."

And so Robin let herself be led, trusting her husband and her co-worker. She gripped Zoro's hand tightly upon recognizing the path to the staff room, sure she was experiencing some kind of post-traumatic stress, until she peeked inside. Flowers occupied the table in the center of the room corner to corner, along with an assortment of stuffed animals and a massive envelope, just about the size of her torso. Not only that, but a surplus of employees were gathered behind the table, smiling sweetly.

"The other day, Valentina called to ask how you were doing. I told her that you'd been in a really shitty mood, you weren't sleeping or eating or even talking to me. So, we thought-"

Zoro's speech was promptly cut off by the secretary. "_He _thought we should do something. To show you that we're here for you. I just helped him."

Immediately, tears welled up in Robin's eyes. Caught up in her melancholic lifestyle, she'd been so cruel to Zoro. She hadn't acknowledged the ways in which he'd been kind and caring and, for that, she felt awful. "Oh, Zoro-"

"Are we late?" Kinemon strolled into the room with Momonosuke at his side. Robin immediately noticed a bright yellow daffodil in the boy's fist.

At the sight of Robin, the child detached himself from his father and bound up to his favourite museum employee. She knelt, gathering him into her arms and resting her chin atop his head. "Sorry to keep you waiting, sweetie."

"Are you coming back?" Momonosuke asked timidly.

"As soon as possible. Is that flower for me?"

Nodding slowly, he handed her the single flower - coincidentally, the same ones that grew just outside the museum. Robin accepted it with a quiet "thank you", standing with the boy and holding him on her hip. Zoro flocked to his wife's side, curiously studying the boy and deciding, "He's not that bad, I guess."

"Neither are you," Robin smiled. "I can't even begin to thank you, Zoro. I'm so sorry I didn't notice how hard you've been trying..."

The swordsman kissed her cheek, smiling. There's no need to apologize. I just want you to know that you don't have to go through this alone. It's okay to need help, Robin."

Promptly wiping a tear off her cheek, Robin curled up to Zoro and tightened her grip on Momonosuke. Sharing her misfortune seemed so selfish to her, but it was only then that she realized how wrong she'd been. Undergoing such a painful loss, impossibly, had its rewards; it opened her eyes to what she could be denied, but showed her what kind of love she could be given - only if she could find it in herself to accept it.

* * *

**I'm not dead! This one took a long time, as you could probably tell, especially with having to do research on miscarriages and molar pregnancies (and I probably fucked up on the details somewhere, regrettably). I've also changed my penname. Yes, yes.**

**- Angela**


	22. young and beautiful

**One Piece is the property of Eiichiro Oda.**

* * *

Waves of rhythm course through her blood, her arms, her hands and hips. They move through her skirt as it ripples and fans out around her very able legs as she turns around and around. They raise their drinks. Drunk on and drowning in her own allure, she turns and turns, high on the addiction in their eyes. For the first time, she can control dozens without being the subordinate of a menacing man with a golden hook as his weapon - without the fruit-borne deformity that scathed her childhood. She feels truly eighteen again, beguiling as her "barely legal" status proclaims her to be.

Throughout her childhood, her negative experiences failed to put a damper on her ever-flourishing imagination and hope. When a good thing happened, she'd compile a list of three wishes. Having been born into a world with fruit that possessed the ability to alter one's genetics, there was a time during which she was convinced that she would stumble upon a genie over the course of her travels. And she would feel awful making that genie wait for her to think of her wishes, so she opted to preempt such an event by compiling her list beforehand, planning accordingly. Today is like that.

She wishes that this high could come to her through a less bizzare medium. She wishes she could uncover this much pleasure in a cup of coffee or a novel.

She wishes that the new kind of confidence that these longing stares from the men in the crowd would stay with her, even after she gained back the twelve years stolen from her by the caped woman.

And she wishes to captivate the first mate of her crew the way he does so effortlessly to her. This rejuvenation is her key. No longer is she the mysterious older woman, but the much more attainable - and still as mysterious, mind you - young adult. Every time he stared hard at her, trying to find just how she'd aged in twelve years, his lone pupil prodding at her, her heart raced. Such a penetrating, pensive stare stirred up an unfamiliar, out of character shyness in her. So commenced her awe of him and his ways, her longing to acquire his attention the way he had held hers hostage; the ransom being her secrets.

Such a happening erased Robin's misconceptions of Roronoa Zoro. Though his intelligence was questionable and the size of some of her books made him nervous, his curiosity sparked her own. How he saved her life, caught her when she fell, jumped to her aid in the blink of an eye and wished for not even thanks in return... she was so unused to such selflessness. Growing up she learned very quickly that people were selfish, so much so that they would practically sell an orphaned child, denying that child both safety and a home, telling her that she ought to be grateful that they took her in to begin with.

Despite the blood he'd spilled, he possessed one of the purest souls that Robin had ever come across. It is the soul she sees when she looks into that single brown eye, studying the odd twenty years of hardship and successes that soul had undergone. She finds herself praying that he'd disclose such displeasures to her, knowing that his own would comfort her. To humanize himself and validate her obsession.

But how could she avoid the most predictable factor? Luffy's strength stood out among thousands and, naturally, Z and his subordinates suffer his wrath. The horror, her greatest fear at the moment, unravels within her as her slim waist becomes a newer, yet, older kind of thin and her bust expands. She doesn't feel much else except for the loss of one other certainty: Zoro. He validates this loss when he sinks back into his routine of passing glances - a grand juxtaposition to the stares to which she'd grown accustomed.

Vain as it is, her twice-experienced youth and beauty taunts her, convincing her that such allure that penetrated the mind of even the swordsman would never be achieved again. In turn, Zoro would no longer care. She is now what she had been to him from the beginning: the creepy, dangerous, archaic archaeologist whom he was obligated to save now and again.

But this frequent saving is a blessing she won't soon forget. The details of their nakamaship are blurred, yet, crystal clear. It excites her that both of them are headstrong and dangerous - it wasn't often that she found both qualities in someone other than herself. Apathetic as he could seem, Roronoa Zoro cares for her, as both his nakama and, perhaps, as a kindred spirit.

Regardless of youth or beauty, that's enough for Robin.

* * *

**This one is a more poetic piece, clearly. The idea happened upon me whilst listening to the soundtrack for The Great Gatsby - namely "Young and Beautiful" by Lana Del Rey, thus explaining all the mentions of youth and beauty. This was also based on Film Z, what with Robin getting younger and such. This was just a quick drabble so I could address two things:**

**#1. I was wondering if you guys would like to see some of my smut here as part of the collection. The scare with the mods here deleting stories with sexual content in them has left me, and I have lots of smut to share. So, yes, let me know!**

**#2. This drabble collection is an OC-free zone. If you're wondering who Valentina was in the last drabble, she's Miss Valentine. She doesn't appear to have a canon given name, I bestowed "Valentina" upon her. Yep yep.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	23. pwp

**Utter PWP below the cut.**

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"I should do _what?_"

"The shit-cook was telling me about it. He does it all the time with Baby or Barbara or Becky or whatever her name is," Zoro replies, waving his hand dismissively. He stands before Robin on the bed, stripping himself of his sweatpants and smirking as he sees his fiancée arch an eyebrow. "What?"

"I knew it was too imaginative for you to think of all by your lonesome."

"Quiet, woman," Zoro pouts. The pout stretches into a smirk as Zoro crawls onto the sheets, repeating the instructions to his fiancée. "Now... spread your legs and try to tell me all about your day."

"What do you mean, 'try'," muses Robin, more to herself than her other half. "If you're challenging me, sir, I'll have you know that today was one of the least eventful days of my life and- what are you doing?"

"You were saying? About your day being uneventful?" Zoro discards her panties, diving in to press his lips to her neck.

Her eyelids flutter at his touch, her azure hues rolling back into her head momentarily as his fingers graze her breasts beneath her tank top. "W-Well, surely, one's day is bound to be uneventful when the same routine is being followed day after day."

"Uh huh. Take this off," Zoro tugs at her top slightly, caressing her thighs and watching with an intense gaze as she peels off the layer of clothing, slightly damp from having been in a muggy bedroom for several hours. Zoro licks his lips, studying his nearly naked fiancée. "Good... what was your day like?"

"I... got in a little early today. Said hello to Valentina. She was out with the... the flu, I think." Robin's nipples harden against the usually silky fabric of her bra as she feels his calloused palms and fingers massage her thighs, just a little above her knees, travelling and squeezing slowly closer to her. Her heaving breasts only slightly obscure her sight, but do not obstruct the feeling of his lips following closely. Her words are but vibrations on her throbbing lips now.

God, she wishes Zoro would let her shut up and drown in this feeling of anticipation. The woman bites her bottom lip as her entrance contracts, sending those waves of excitement and arousal rolling deep in her bones, in her soul. His lips have reached the skin of her mid-thigh, and she can see him inhaling, desperately grasping for her scent, as he hisses at her to _talk, Robin._

"I was just so tired," Robin exhales in a voice just a tad clearer than a seductive rasp brought on by gentle flicks of his tongue at her pussy lips, not yet strong enough to penetrate the folds to reach her pearl. "All I could think about was coming home t'you..."

"Fuck. Me, too, baby." Another swipe of his tongue, just barely brushing the tip of her clit. The swordsman feels her shiver, instinctively wrapping his arms around her upper thighs, his lips nursing her clit. His kisses and licks are urgent as he breathes, "Tell me more. Talk to me."

Straightening her back, feeding off his words, she plants her feet on the mattress. He relinquishes his grip only to tug on the cups of her bra, rising to suck on her newly revealed nipples. Robin's hands wreak an iron grip on his hair, pulling him upward and tonguing him ferociously. Wrenching his head to the side, she hisses in his ear, her fingers curiously playing amongst his earrings: "And when you tell me how badly you want me, throw me on the bed,_ have your way with me_ - you make me so wet."

"Goddamnit..."

Zoro's fingers swiftly spread her pussy lips, massage her clit, delve inside of her. His teeth, dull and yet so sharp against her shoulder blade, grind against her skin. The vibrations she feels on her lips are gasps and moans now, triggering her right hand's venture down the front of his boxers, finding his leaking and throbbing erection. This action releases a deep groan from his throat and he presses his forehead to hers, stroking her with a renewed gusto and ferocity. "Tell me you want me."

"You make me so wet," Robin repeats. "You make me so wet."

It all overwhelms him at once - her voice, her words, her lips, her eyes, her raw sexiness - and a tiger-esque growl tears from his throat. Straight from her wet cavern, Zoro's fingers wrap around the back of her neck, his thumb on her throat as he snarls, "Say it again."

Robin smirks, her hand freeing Zoro's cock to stroke her cunt. "You make me so fucking wet."

The sheer force with which he kisses her slams the headboard against the wall and she cries out against his lips, barely inhaling again before she whines at the sensation of his cock barrelling into her. His hands have a firm grasp on her ass, lifting her slightly. Swinging her forward, Zoro meets her in the middle with every harsh thrust. His forehead stays glued to hers as his unscarred eye indulges in her reaction to how he fucks her: he is submerged in every whine and guttural moan, every inhale cut short by another collision of his hips against hers.

Robin allows herself one porn cliché, gasping, "Oh, yes! Deeper!"

"Tell me it feels good," Zoro orders against her lips. "_Tell me._"

Every swift, rough pounding sends her to heaven, straight down to hell, and all over again. Her tongue is lame between parted lips and she confesses, "So _good_, oh, so good..."

With each moan acting as yet another testimony of such intense pleasure, Zoro's body tenses, so much so that he cannot harness his need for release. He separates their faces, pounding and growling, her parted lips and screams of his name the final straw. He leans into her, pressing his lips to her neck as he releases his seed deep inside of her.

Robin heeds this warm release, remarking, "I need more."

"Huh?"

"I'm close... I need more."

"Oh. Sorry, I just... I needed to..." Zoro sighs, kissing her. "You drive me crazy."

Robin chuckles, taking in his blush. "You know what else I thought about today?"

His tongue flicks out from between his lips and covers them with a thin coat of saliva. "What's that?"

In a display of rapid agility, Robin wrestled Zoro from between her legs, landing swiftly in a straddle on his waist. She tousled her hair, grinning. "The phone sex. Especially when things get super heated."

"Listening to you while you touch yourself..." The swordsman offers. "Gets me hard just thinking about it."

Robin hums, chuckles, leans forward to give him a deep kiss. She lets her lips hover over his as she whispers, "I love it when you tell me how close you are. Every time, when your voice gets all breathy, whiny, and you say, 'Fuck, I'm gonna fuckin, cum'. I love it."

"It's embarrassing," laments Zoro, giving a soft groan as Robin's soft lips press against his muscular neck. He kisses her briefly before she resumes her trail, kissing his chest.

"I think you watch too much porn. You always tell me how badly you want to cum all over my face..." Robin pauses to litter his abs with kisses. "My tits, sometimes my stomach... maybe tonight."

He watches as she presses her lips to his lower stomach, his cock hardening the moment she looks up at him. Her azure orbs penetrate his brown ones and Zoro bites his bottom lip. "Maybe?"

"Maybe." The archaeologist hums. She lifts her head, maintaining her gaze as her left hand cups his sac, massaging gently. Zoro twitches and groans, panting hard as Robin's tongue teases the head of his slowly hardening member. Her bottom lip caresses the head of his cock and she sighs, "Maybe."

Zoro blushes as a small bit of precum spills forth from his penis and Robin laps it up eagerly, continuing to stroke him with her tongue. With each swipe, her hot breath rolls over his erection, forcing him to wonder what she has planned. "Baby..."

Finally, she takes the tip between her lips, nursing it gently. His chest rises and falls rapidly and he moans her name, whispering for her to take more of his member inside the moist heat of her mouth. Robin obeys and adopts a steady bobbing rhythm, her tongue stroking his shaft all the while. Her palms either stroke the remainder of his length or cradle his sac, making use of the hands with which she was born. And all the while, she stares at him, taking in his strong reaction to her work. Zoro begins to buck his hips slowly and he bites his bottom lip.

"I can see why you like to watch me," Robin observes, her lips parting from his gently pulsating member. "Would you like to?"

Nodding vacantly, Zoro spies her as she seats herself on his stomach and plants her feet on either side of his toned torso. She reaches down between her spread legs, her right hand behind her, bracing herself as her left hand fingers spread her lips. The very sight makes the swordsman moan, especially as she makes to tease her clit. She managed to remain gloriously wet and, heeding this, Zoro sighs, "You're soaked, sweetheart."

"See how wet you make me?" Robin whispers. Reluctantly, Zoro reaches up to grasp one of her breasts, prompting her to slide a single, teasing middle finger inside herself. The swordsman's cock twitches at the sight and he aches to touch himself.

"Please... Robin, _please..._"

If Zoro could only reach around her to appease to his member's beckoning, he wouldn't be imploring in such a humiliating way. The sight and the sound of Robin's wetness consuming her long fingers as she smirks at him boosts his rather perverted and colourful imagination, forcing him to dream of what would follow the moment she unseated herself.

And it is then that Zoro remembers his strength, wrapping his arms around Robin's waist and coaxing her onto her back. Lying close to the edge of the bed, Robin curls up and holds onto Zoro's neck as they share a passionate kiss. These kisses of his depart from her lips, instead opting for several of them all the way down her torso. In but a moment, he's inside her again, relishing Robin's quiet gasp as his warm, wet tongue fills her. Zoro's lips capture her sweet, swollen pearl and her fingers capture his green tresses as he invites himself to explore. She tilts her head back, allowing her head and hair to fall from the bed. He repeats his enthusiastic motions, plunging gladly in and around the tight, wet space.

"Zoro," Robin gives a gentle arch of her back and clutches the sheets. "I'm still c-close..."

_Good to know,_Zoro hums mentally. He has a swift change of mind and decides to use Robin's vulnerability to experiment. Resurfacing Zoro watches her body tremble as he mumbles, "I wanna try somethin'."

"Huh?" Robin sighs, rising only halfway before Zoro's lips meet hers.

"I'm going to make you squirt, Robin."

"What a hideous word, _squirt_. Right up there with 'ointment' and 'moist'," Robin comments. "I don't _squirt_, Zoro."

"But you will." The male insisted. "Because I am going to make you. Understand?"

Admittedly intrigued, Robin smirks. "Yes, sir."

"I'll need you to stand."

"Oh, won't you carry me? You just make me so weak."

With a roll of his eye, Zoro lodges himself completely inside of her, slowly moving into a standing position with his hands placed securely on her ass. She rolls her hips, not quite patient enough to wait for his powerful, pleasurable thrusts to ensue once more. Zoro's knees nearly buckle at the sensation and he quickly presses her against the wall, both to brace himself and to carry out his plan. One hand remains attached to her succulent flesh, the other flattened against the unforgiving hardness of the wall. Zoro exhausts their accumulated, final bits of strength to resume his thrusts.

He mimics her earlier motion, rolling his own hips as he curls one of her legs around his waist and hoists the other over his shoulder. Zoro hates having to talk over her sexy, breathy whines as he grumbles to her, but he smirks, nonetheless. His lips graze hers. "I'm going to make you squirt, Robin."

Having learned her lesson, she simply replies, "Yes, sir."

And his powerful thrusts immediately resume - the first rouses a loud cry from the woman, the second brings his name, and the surreal blur sets in as he begins to buck his hips in rapid succession. The position of her legs gives him a brand new feeling - or, dare he say it, an understanding - of her and the way she was made. Almost as if she was created for him, her body sculpted for this moment that ensured paradise to come.

Robin is folded completely into the wall, unable to escape from Zoro's harsh gaze. She had never felt so naked as when his hungry stare takes her in now: how he drives his cock unabashedly into new places, her breasts heaving with every uncontrollable outcry. She finds herself wanting to hide in the safety of his neck and obscure her most uninhibited desires written all over her face. Her furrowed brows, her parted lips, her moans just short of screams - all evidence of the unsuppressed pleasure she feels.

He watches her bow her head, her hair bouncing lightly with every swift, rough thrust. "Look at me, Robin."

"Z-Zoro... _Zoro_-"

"Robin, _look at me._"

Her teary azure eyes rise to meet his gaze and he momentarily relieves his grip on the leg around his waist to wrap his fingers around the back of her neck. With his thumb resting on her bottom lip, Zoro growls, "I want you to look at me. Keep looking at me."

As affirmation, Robin takes his thumb between her lips and nurses it briefly, tenderly, as she stares into his eye. His eye darts all around her face, so deeply aroused by her wondrous ways of seducing him this far into their heated evening together. Replacing his hand, his motions become vigorous and purposeful. Robin has never been so close so quickly; this unique kind of pleasure terrifies her, yet, she finds herself screaming for more. She bites on the tips of her fingers, embarrassed at her obnoxiously loud noises as she groans and gasps at every skilful thrust.

"Don't hold back - you're so sexy, don't hold back." Zoro whispers as he presses his forehead to hers. He grins when her lips fall apart and her eyes roll back into her head, watching as she cries out and stammers about how close she is. He isn't far behind, reaching his climax with a gasp of, "Robin!"

Immediately, Robin envelops his lips in a deep and passionate kiss, begging him, "Oh, Zoro, please don't stop-"

"_Fuck_, you're so wet-"

"Zoro!"

Quickly placing her on her back on the bed, Zoro pulls out rapidly, replacing his member with two fingers. He watches her intently as he makes a beckoning motion with his fingers with his palm turned up to the ceiling, rubbing against the same spot that has been responsible for her screams the whole night.

The reaction to this motion surprises even Robin. Her mind has gone blank, the white hot pleasure ripping scream after convulsion after scream from her shaking body. The unrelenting bliss rocks her, clear by the way she stammers and cries out while gripping the sheets. She can hear her back crack as she arches it along with her legs, bent almost completely out of shape as the climax hits her. She experiences a flashback of the night - Zoro's face hovering over her as they fucked, his hot mouth tasting her, how he ordered her to look at him, how he gasped her name, Zoro, Zoro, Zoro - when he forces her to her peak.

He has an expression of smug victory on his face as her essence coats his fingers, dripping onto the sheets and cascading down her inner thighs, spraying out in other places. Watching her come down from her high, he exclaims, "Would you look at that? You squirted."

"Don't call it that," Robin breathes, nudging his shoulder with her toes. "Such a hideous word."

"Jizzed?"

"Grow up." She laughs, sitting up and observing the mess she'd made. "Oh, dear."

"Don't worry about it. I love the sweet smell of pussy in the morning." Zoro gives his fingers a curious lick, moaning quietly at the taste. "Wanna go again?"

As a reply, Robin leans forward, kissing Zoro as he hovers over her. Their kisses are soft and void of tongue - much-needed after such a rough night. He lays her back down, settling on his side at her right. He exhales quietly and nudges his nose with hers, whispering, "We can go slow. If that's what you want."

She simply nods. He reaches over, cupping her cheek in his hand as he kisses her. This hand moves down, grazing her breasts and brushing against her stomach until it reaches her core, still wet from her last orgasm. He strokes her gently, her moans like music to his ears, as his other hand grabs her right leg, pushing her knee as close to her chest as possible.

"It's like you're my personal trainer," Robin jests. "Stretching me this way and that."

Zoro smiles, looking her in the eyes. "God, I'm so in love with you."

The mood has undeniably shifted. Robin feels the dirty, raunchy sensation seep away - water down the drain of this new feeling - once their lips touch. She feels his impressive length and girth pressing against her before moving inside. From the moment he is immersed completely inside her, he gasps, "I love you."

His deep, throaty voice sends a chill up Robin's spine; such delicate words from such a rugged, handsome man turn her on beyond belief. Looking him in the eyes, she strokes his cheek and whispers, "Fuck me."

"I love you," he whispers again as he pulls back and glides into her slowly. If he says it again, Robin isn't sure; she is immersed in this new, patient brand of lovemaking. She allows him to kiss her and grab her, too concentrated on the slow back and forth motion. "I love you."

She manages a whimper and stares down between her thighs, studying every inch of penetration lost and gained, lost again and gained back. She looks up at him as he reaches over, his right hand cupping her cheek and turning her head to face him. They stare at one another until he whispers, "You're beautiful."

"I... oh, Zoro..."

Robin gasps in unison with Zoro as he begins to move faster, the orgasm already quickly approaching. His hand slips down to grasp her breast as his thrusts become faster, more precise. He rubs intensely against every sensitive spot inside her, relishing every moan and plea for more that rips from her throat.

Zoro bites his tongue, knowing that she wasn't one who particularly enjoyed too many professions of love in the bedroom. He opts to lean over and kiss Robin, groaning softly. Her eyes stay open throughout this, flicking between Zoro's face and between her thighs. He feels the immediate need to take her, to claim her as his. Briefly pulling out - Robin waits with bated breath for his return - he opts for a place between her legs and plunges deep into her.

Robin's body tenses as she gasps his name, her left hand snaking down until her fingertips begin to massage her clit. "Together," she offers and Zoro immediately nods. He fucks her urgently, his body tensing along with the tight, wet space surrounding his member. The swordsman presses his forehead to hers, gasping her name and whispering about how close he is over her whimpers. Their breathing and the sound of the headboard slamming relentlessly into the wall signals their approaching release and she cries out his name, all her energy leaving her body with her final orgasm.

Spent, Zoro falls into her and pants, a grin plastered onto his features. "For once, I might actually have to thank the dartbrow for something."

"We'll send him a muffin basket," Robin jokes, chuckling softly and gently pressing her lips to his. "I expect you to top that tomorrow night."

"Tch." Zoro rolls his eyes and blushes, peeling himself off her to saunter towards the bathroom. "I'll be in touch with him, then."

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**I am awful at updating! Can you tell that I tried to buy your forgiveness with PWP? I've recently adopted the practice of focusing on some of my other pairings – namely UsoNa – so I've been **_**super **_**neglecting this collection. Fear not – I haven't completely given up yet. I hope you liked this – I've actually been working on this since April. I'm such a slacker. D':**

**- Angela**


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